A Link Between Worlds: The Novelization
by PhantomHeartless5
Summary: Link thought that he was destined to be nothing more than a simple blacksmith's apprentice. But when a simple errand ends in an encounter with a mysterious wizard named Yuga, it's the catalyst for a series of events that forces him to take up the mantle of the previous Hero of Hyrule to save both it and another world from utter destruction. An adaptation of A Link Between Worlds.
1. Chapter 1: Not a Morning Person

**Greetings and Bienvenue, fellow fanfic authors. Years ago, back when I first started writing fanfics, I said I would make a novelization of _Skyward Sword._ But as I was still new at writing fanfics, I never did. But after my novelization of _Kid Icarus: Uprising_, which I'm very proud of by the way, I said to myself "C'mon Phantom. Broaden your horizons a bit." And so I decided to try my hand at another novelization, this being one of _A Link Between Worlds_. I was previously planning a story for the Batman Arkham series, but I decided to jump on this story first since no one else has seemed to make a novelization of it. **

**Now, aside from some slight changes, the story will mostly follow the game. I have a feeling though that this is going to be harder than novelizing Uprising, and _that_ was hard. But I'll try to do the game the justice it deserves. Anywho, please read, review, and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_**A Link Between Worlds: The Novelization**_

It was the same dream. Night after night, it was the same dream.

Once again, Link found himself alone in a vast swirling void of emptiness, armed with nothing but a shield and sword. His clothing was torn to tatters. Cuts and bruises littered every inch of his body. In every direction, there was nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see. The only form of light that illuminated the area were a pair of glowing, menacing red eyes that glared at Link with pure malice. They belonged to a monster that seemed to be one with the darkness surrounding them. Were it not for the red eyes, one could say that it was never there at all.

Link had been engaged in a battle with the creature that lasted for hours, though it felt like years to him. And judging by the state of his injuries, the battle was most decidedly not going in his favor. Link stood on bended knee, using his sword to prop himself up as he was exhausted from the fight. The monster menaced closer and closer to Link, pounding the floor with its thunderous footsteps. It seemed all Link could do was close his eyes and wait for the end. The beast raised its mighty claw, ready to strike down the young lad. As the monster attacked, the red eyes seemed to vanish and fade to black. At that moment, Link heard the sound of what appeared to be a young girl screaming.

Meanwhile in the real world, as Link tossed and turned in his bed, he was oblivious to the fact that someone had just walked into his house. It was a young boy. By his size, he was no older than six. He was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes much like Link himself, though his left eye His clothing consisted of a small green hat on his head. He wore a tan, long-sleeved shirt with a green vest on top. He wore brown pants and orange boots. This was Gulley, son of the local blacksmith Ienzo where Link worked and Link's surrogate little brother if you will. After Link had failed to report for work for the fifth straight time in a row. Gulley was ordered to once again fetch him.

Gulley walked over to the bed where Link was asleep and nudged him in the shoulder. "Hey, Link." he said. But there was no response. "Huh. Still sleeping." Gulley shook his head. "Papa's really gonna let him have it this time." he muttered. Taking a step back, Gulley drew in a deep breath and yelled, "WAKE UP!" Link's eyes flew open and he jumped from his bed. "Wha?! Who's there?" he yelled before turning to see Gulley right next to him. "Oh, Gulley it's you. What are you doing here?" he grumbled as he rubbed his temples and wiped the sweat off his brow, still half-asleep.

"Come on! How long are you going to sleep, Link?" Gulley asked. "Do I have to wake you up every morning? I had chores to do! I'll be waiting outside, so get up-and let's get going!" Gulley walked to the door, but stopped and turned to face Link again. "Papa was really angry. He said you can't be a blacksmith if you don't get up at the crack of dawn!" he said before leaving the house and leaving Link to his thoughts. Link got out of the bed and hurriedly put on his daily outfit which consisted of a floppy green hat with a yellow ring around the base, a green tunic with brown sleeves and a belt, white pants and brown boots.

"Back to reality." he said to himself as he walked out of the door. Indeed, it was back to his humdrum life of being a humble blacksmith's apprentice. Now that wasn't to say that the job was not without its perks. After all, being the apprentice to the most famous blacksmith in Hyrule can make one pretty popular around town as it did Link. And of course the pay was good. But then those strange dreams began happening and it made it harder to concentrate on his work, thus his continued tardiness. This undoubtedly earned him Ienzo's ire with each incident.

The dreams got so bad that he once went to the local fortune teller to try to decipher them. All the fortune teller told him was that big changes to his life were fast approaching. Sure, Link had always wanted more out of life than being a simple blacksmith apprentice and be like one of the knights of Hyrule Castle, but he didn't know whether the fortune teller's warning was good or bad. And so, Link just powered through every day and every sleepless night as best he could.

As he walked outside, he was met by Gulley. "Papa is steaming mad that you're late again." Gulley said. "C'mon, let's get to the shop." Gulley began to run with Link behind him, only for the youth to suddenly stop, causing Link to crash behind him. "Oh, don't forget to spin that vane." Gulley said. "Huh?" Link said.

"Always give that weather vane a good spin when you pass by." Gulley said. "It'll bring you good luck. Papa says you should always do that. Hmm. He never tells me how it brings good luck. I'm just a kid. Nobody tells me anything. Anyway, I'm going to run on ahead. Catch up after you spin that vane, Link." And Gulley ran off into the woods by Link's house. Link spun the vane as instructed and ran after him, following him along the path right to Ienzo's house near Kakariko Village. Gulley was right outside waiting for him.

"I think Papa might really have it in for you now, Link." Gulley said. " He really blew his stack! Maybe he's cooled down by now. But, uh, I sorta doubt it! You'd better head inside. My papa's waiting, Link!"

"So what else is new?" Link asked as he headed inside. As he did, he had walked in to see Ienzo and his wife, Madison. Ienzo was a portly man with a big nose, mustache, and beard. dressed in a green shirt with a brown tunic on top. He wore brown pants and a green hat much like Link's. Madison was a portly woman with blonde hair and blue eyes much like Gulley's. Her outfit consisted of a green dress with a pink top. Over it, she wore a brown apron. she wore brown shoes on her feet and a green hat on her head. The two of them had been married for forty years. Madison was the kinder of the two and usually the one to rein in her husband's temper.

And then there was the craftsman, John, who worked with Ienzo. His outfit consisted of a pink shirt and blue overalls with a matching blue hat. He was a quiet guy who generally kept to himself. And finally there was James, the Captain of the Guard. He was a blond-haired man dressed in a red uniform and a matching red hat. He wore white gloves and matching white pants. In his left hand he held a blue shield. He had a glorious reputation as one of the best soldiers in Hyrule.

"All right. So tell me, how's that shield suit you, Captain?" Ienzo asked.

"Superb work as always, Ienzo." James replied. "But I expect nothing less from a master."

"I do what I can, Captain." Ienzo replied. "Also helps that I have a good source of ore. That shield's tougher than ever now."

"I wouldn't trust my gear with anyone else." James said. "No one can bring the best out of a blade quite like you. So, if you'll excuse me, it's time that I forge ahead. Busy day." James turned to leave only to stop when he saw Link. "Oh, who's this? Well, well, if it isn't Link!" James said as he mussed Link's hair, a habit that Link had disliked royally. "Slept late again? You sure you're cut out to be a blacksmith?" He asked. "It's not my business to say, but you best mend your ways, lad. There's no future in being a layabout." And with that, he walked out the house.

Link stood there and waved him goodbye. He was soon brought back to reality by Ienzo's booming voice. "LATE AGAIN?!" he yelled, startling the youth. "But, boss. I can-". he started to explain. "Spare me the excuses." Ienzo yelled. "Well, come on, get over here! Time to get to work, Link!" Link bowed his head and slowly walked towards Ienzo. Madison, who had remained silent, then noticed something on the table. Something that made her gasp. "Oh, my!" she yelled as she walked towards the table, noticing the sword on it. "The captain left without taking his new sword." she said.

"What?! He's gone off unarmed." Ienzo yelled before turning to Link. "Lucky you. Instead of getting an earful, you got an errand, Link. Take that sword and hurry after the captain." Link took the sword, but looked at Ienzo. "Where's the captain going?" Link asked. "Where else?" Ienzo replied. "He's got to be heading back to Hyrule Castle!" Link continued to look at Ienzo with a half-glazed expression. "You still groggy? Fine!" He then took a map of Hyrule and stamped the castle on it with a black pen. "There! I marked it on your map, so get a move on!"

Link turned and walked out the door before being stopped by Madison. "Don't fret about that old sourpuss." she whispered in that soft voice of hers. "I'm sure he'll forget all about your sleeping late by the time you come back." But as Link began to leave, another voice stopped him. This time it was Ienzo's. "And don't think you're off the hook, boy! When you come back, you'll be working twice as hard to make up for the time you wasted sleeping, am I understood?"

"Yes sir." Link said. And that was the reason why Link found it hard to believe Madison's claims about her husband being grouchy. Ienzo was _always_ grouchy. And so began just another humdrum day in the life of a humble blacksmith's apprentice. Or so Link thought. Unbeknownst to the young man. He was about to be swept up in a series of events that would see his name carved in the annals of history and heroism.

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**Okay, that's the first chapter. And many more to go. Tell me what you think so far and stay tuned for the next one!**


	2. Chapter 2: Evil Arrives

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Link, a humble blacksmith's apprentice had woken up from his recurring nightmare and reported to his job. But when the Captain of the Guard visiting forgets leaves his sword behind, Ienzo sends Link to return it to him. Now our hero travels to Hyrule Castle to find the Captain.**

Carefully following his map, Link followed the path straight to Hyrule Castle, home of Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule. As he reached the castle, he couldn't help but stop and admire the beauty of it. The castle was large, far larger than any house in Hyrule. Link himself had never visited the castle nor had he met Princess Zelda in person. But he had heard lots of wondrous things about her. She was renowned throughout Hyrule. Many said that despite her youth, she ruled with the unparalleled wisdom that befits any just ruler of a kingdom. It was also said that her wisdom was matched only by her kindness and compassion. But as much as he wanted to visit the castle, he had a job to do.

Walking up to the castle gates, he was met by a guard. "Morning, Link." The guard greeted. "What brings you here so early? Delivery for the captain?"

"Yes." Link replied. "He left his new sword behind when visited the shop. Ienzo told me to return it to him. Do you know where I can find him?" The guard put a hand on his chin as he stopped to think. "Hmm. Well, he's not at the castle, that much I can tell you." the guard replied. "I do know that he was planning on visiting the Sanctuary. He probably got hung up there. I hope he comes back soon. We've had an outbreak of vandalism. All over the walls-paintings everywhere!"

"Really?" Link asked.

"Yeah, and we don't know who's doing it." the guard replied. "Anyway, if you need to find him. I'd say head north of the castle. That's where the Sanctuary is." He then pointed to his right with his spear. "Thataway is a shortcut." he said. "Thanks." Link replied as he walked to his left. As he did, he stopped to see another soldier attempting to wash the painting of a knight off the wall. Attempting was the operative word as no matter how hard he brushed, the painting refused to come off. "Need help?" Link asked the soldier. "Nah." came the reply. "We've been up since dawn washing these paintings off the walls. Crummy joke if you ask me."

Link walked closer to the painting to examine it himself. It was a man in blue armor wielding a bow. He looked far more intimidating than any of the Hyrule soldiers. But as he got closer to the painting... the eyes suddenly moved to look at Link! Startled, Link let out a yell and stumbled backwards, falling on his rear. "You okay, kid?" the soldier asked. "T-T-The painting. I-I-I-It moved!" Link yelled. The guard turned to look at the painting. "I didn't see anything." he said. "But, I'm telling you! It moved! The eyes moved!" The guard looked back at the painting. "Well, they're not moving now." The guard said. "You sure you're okay?"

Link took a deep breath to compose himself. "I'm sorry. I haven't been getting much sleep lately and I think it's getting to me." he said.

"Don't worry, kid. I have days like that." the soldier replied. Link picked up the captain's sword and continued on, passing by more soldiers attempting to wash soldier paintings off. He then took a left and headed north through the forest until he reached the Sanctuary. There he saw Seres, a nun and the daughter of the Sanctuary's priest, Marcus, talking with Dampe, the Sanctuary's gravekeeper. Seres was a beautiful young girl with short green hair who wore a blue dress with a matching blue mantle. She wore a white cap on her head.

Dampe himself was an old man who had worked at the Sanctuary for most of his life. He wore a tattered faded-green shirt with blue pants. He always carried his trusty shovel with him wherever he went. Link walked up to the two of them just as they finished their conversation. "Oh, look who's here!" Seres exclaimed. "Welcome to the Sanctuary, Link. Eager as ever, aren't you? Is there something I can help you with?"

"Hello, Seres." Link replied. "I'm here to see Captain James. I was told he could be found here. He left his new sword behind when he visited the shop earlier, so I'm here to return it to him."

"I see, I see... You're looking for the captain." Seres replied. "Well, you're at the right place. He's come to see my father. The captain forgot his sword? Oh, how unlike him to be so careless! Just a moment, I'll fetch him for you." And with that, she walked into the sanctuary, leaving Link alone with Dampe. "Coming and going! Going and coming! The captain stops by here more than anyone..." Dampe said.

"He must really be good friends with Priest Marcus." Link replied.

"You think he wants to yak with the priest?" Dampe chuckled. "No, sir-just makin' excuses to see Seres there. She hasn't got a clue, either. But I s'pose that's what's so lovely about Seres. Carefree as a bird... But ol' Dampé sees more'n people think. Like those paintings on the castle walls this morning." That statement made Link paused, remembering his earlier incident with those paintings. "What do you know about those paintings?" he asked.

"You noticed it too, huh?" Dampe asked. "How those paintings feel alive? So has Dampe. Something big's about to happen. I can feel it in my gut. There's trouble brew-_-_"

"AHHH!" came the shrill scream of Seres. At that moment, the Sanctuary doors instantly slammed shut. "Wh-what's happening in there?!" Dampe exclaimed. He attempted to pry the doors open, but to no avail. Link then began repeatedly hitting the doors with his elbow while Dampe whacked it with his shovel. But still, no results. "Th-th-the doors are shut tight. Can't get them open!" Dampe shouted. "Wh-what can we do? That was Seres crying out! Dampé doesn't have a key! Dampé just digs the graves around—! Wait! Dampé remembers! Dampé once heard the priest talking about a secret way into the Sanctuary, hidden right in my Graveyard. Bad luck, Dampé thinks, messing around with graves. Worse luck, going under the ground..."

Dampe then turned to Link. "But YOU! You do it. If you get scared, just swing that sword around!"

"What? Me?" Link asked. "But this sword is for the captain!"

"Forget that! Get to swinging that sword around!" Dampe commanded.

"But I can't..." Link began to say.

"What?" Dampe asked. "Saving Seres is way more important than some delivery. You're using that sword-even if Dampe has to tie it to your hand!" Link gave a defeated sigh and said. "Okay, fine. I suppose I'll use it if I have to."

"Good." Dampe said. "If you get into trouble, just swing that sword around. Also, take this with you." Dampe then gave Link a small lantern." This'll be able to help you see in the dark. Dampe would help, but these old bones are falling apart as it is. So go find the secret passage. It's got to be hidden somewhere in the Graveyard." Link ran to the nearby graveyard and began to search for the secret entrance. Link decided to go for the most likely place. Though it was against Dampe's rules, he figured in this situation he wouldn't mind. He grabbed the grave in the middle of the graveyard and began to push. Slowly, it revealed a set of stairs.

"_Guess ol' Dampe's not as crazy as people think_." Link thought to himself. He attached the lantern to his belt and made his way down. In the middle of the dark room, there was a sign that read. "The path will open to the one who lights the way." He then caught sight of two torches. Lighting them both with his lantern, the door began to open. Link walked into the room, lighting more torches to improve his vision. Fortunately, the only threat so far were the rats that infested the room. Link made his way to the door only to find that it was locked. Thinking that there might be a key somewhere in the room. Link walked along the catwalk until he found a chest. He opened the door and found a key in it.

Link went back to the door and unlocked it. He walked into the room and was confronted by a startling sight: Ghosts. lots of them. The ethereal beings swarmed around Link. Link performed a Spin Attack to kill the ghosts in one fell blow. Luckily, Captain James would teach Link the art of swordplay in his free time, so Link's sword skills weren't too bad. The next room Link was in had two levers on the walls. It seemed that one of them opened the door. Link went to the one on his right and pulled it, only for two snakes to drop behind him. Link killed the snakes and went to pull the one on the left. At that moment, the door opened.

Link raced up the stairs and into the Sanctuary, praying to the goddesses that Seres would be okay. When he made it into the sanctuary, he heard a man shout in pain, recognizing it to be Priest Marcus. It was then followed by a shout of "Father!" by Seres. When he rushed into the room, he was appalled by what he saw. The priest was lying on the ground in pain. On the left wall was a painting that all-too resembled Captain James. Link also saw Seres cornered by what appeared to be the priest's attacker.

He was a slender, effeminate man with albino skin, a pointed nose, and red, braided hair. He wore purple eyeliner around his eyes, lipstick, and diamond earrings. His clothing consisted of a headband decorated with a ruby gem, a black robe with a reversed Triforce symbol on his chest, a purple cape with red trimming, puffy blue pants with black stripes and yellow elf shoes. In his hand, he held a strange, golden staff whose top glowed with a rainbow fire, making it resemble a cross between a torch and a paintbrush.

"What do you want with Seres? I swear if you hurt my daughter...!" Marcus threatened through pained speech. "And what sort of fiend dares to defile the Sanctuary in this manner?"

"Fiend?" The man asked with a condescending, almost mocking chuckle. "How quick you are to stoop to such petty insults. Though, at the least, I should introduce myself. Manners and all. My name is Yuga. I am but a humble artist who has come to this dreary land seeking nothing less than... _perfection._" He then turned to face the cowering Seres. "And _you_, my dear, are perfection." He said as he stroked Seres's cheek with perverse affection. "How can you stand being so lovely? Surrounded by these filthy fools. I will put you on a pedestal. Or rather, a wall-perfect forever."

"No! Don't hurt me!" Seres pleaded.

"Relax, my dear. This won't hurt a bit." Yuga replied as his staff began to glow. "Now hold still. Everything has to be _just_ right." And with a wave of his staff, Yuga created a portrait frame behind Seres, then fired a blast of magic at her. The young nun screamed as the magic enveloped her, with Link watching in horror as she was slowly transformed into a painting. Yuga picked up the portrait and sighed. "Ah! As I suspected. You're even lovelier as a painting." he said. "I think Her Grace will be most pleased."

"Seres!" Link yelled, causing Yuga to turn and look at him. "Oh? What have we here? Another worm comes wriggling in?" Yuga asked. Marcus turned around to see Link standing over him. "H-How did you get into the Sanctuary, Link?" Marcus asked. "Run, child!" Link didn't move, but continued to glare at Yuga, who stared back with an arrogant smile. "W-why do you just stand there? RUN!" Marcus commanded. "Not even the captain stood a chance against him!"

"I believe this worm here wishes to tangle with me." Yuga chuckled. "Are you sure you want to do that? Not even that captain of yours stood a chance against my might." He gestured to the painting of the captain on the wall, confirming Link's horror that it was indeed Captain James. "For all his spit and polish, he made for but a crude doodle on the wall. A waste of my magic." His anger growing, Link's grip on the blade tightened. "Oh? Well come on then. Wriggle, wriggle, little worm!" He taunted, making a teasing gesture with his finger. Enraged by his taunts, Link charged at the sorcerer, fully intending to strike him down with his blade. Yuga, however, turned into a painting and merged with the wall, causing Link to crash right into it. "_Really should've thought that through a bit more._" Link thought to himself as he fell to the floor.

"You think you can challenge _ME?_" Yuga asked. "Why, I am the portrait of perfection! While all of you...? Mere scribbles and squiggles. The very sight of you offends my eyes! Still, I'll be leaving this ugly world soon enough." He then reemerged out of the wall. Link attempted to get to his feet, only for Yuga to kick him aside. "Gah! Out of my way!" he said as he marched out the Sanctuary. "Farewell, fools. I'm off to acquire what little perfection I can find in this gaudy world of yours." But as he made his way to the door, he was stopped by Marcus, who clung to his cape. "N-n-no! Don't take my Seres...!" he pleaded hoarsely.

"Unhand me you filthy animal!" Yuga demanded as he tried to wrest his cape from Marcus's grip.

"Please! I'll give you anything! Just don't take my daughter!" the priest pleaded.

"Oh, shut up!" Yuga yelled as he gave Marcus a solid whack with his staff, knocking the priest into a nearby pew. "Ugh! Now, I'll have to get this cape cleaned to wash your filth off of it. Pathetic insect." He then walked out the Sanctuary, leaving Link and Marcus alone. "We must...warn...Princess Zelda..." the priest said before losing consciousness. Link tried to stand up, but his body was wracked with pain. All he could do was utter, "Princess... Zelda..." in a weak tone before fallng consciousness as well.

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**And that's the second chapter. Link meets Ravio and Princess Zelda next time, so stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3: An Audience With The Princess

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _A Link Between Worlds._ Link was on his way to the Sanctuary to deliver Captain James's new sword. Upon arriving at the Sanctuary, he was met by a mysterious sorcerer named Yuga who abducted Seres right before Link's eyes. Despite his best efforts, Link was unable to stop Yuga. Now Link wakes up to find an unexpected visitor in his home. **

"Link, help me!" Seres cried as a dark void appeared beneath her feet that was slowly pulling her in. "Seres! I'm coming!" Link replied as he raced toward her. But as he started to run, the floor beneath him melted into quicksand, slowing him down considerably. "Link, please!" Seres pleaded as she began to sink, desperately trying to grab on to _something_ for support. Link slogged through the quicksand and tried to reach her, but was too late. Link could only watch in absolute horror as the black void enveloped Seres. "NO!" Link screamed as he tried to grab her. "No..." He broke out into quiet weeps.

"You could've saved her." a scornful voice called out. Link looked up through tear-stained eyes to see Priest Marcus standing over him, his expression one of scorn and disdain. "Why didn't you save her?" he asked. "Priest, I tried but..." Link sputtered out.

"You didn't try to save her." Marcus interrupted with a bitter tone in his voice. "You just let that madman waltz in and take my daughter. Because of you, she's gone!" His voice suddenly became distorted and more demonic, his eyes beginning to glow red. "You couldn't save her just like you couldn't save yourself!" His form began to twist and contort until he became a sort of living mist. To Link's growing horror, he realized that this was the same shadow monster from his dreams. Link frantically tried to run, only to find himself in the beast's maw. The monster grabbed struggling Link and raised him towards his mouth, swallowing him whole.

"NO!" Link yelled as he awoke with a start, breathing heavily as sweat poured down his brow. He looked around to find was... back in his house, strangely. But he didn't get to look long as he was surprised by another sight: the sight of a man in a purple outfit. Startled, Link fell to the ground. The man was dressed in a purple robe with a belt decorated with a green rupee. He also wore a a blue scarf with black stripes on it. His most noticeable feature was the large hood decorated in the shape of a bunny that concealed his face. Floating around him was a small white bird with red eyes.

"Ooooh, you're waking up." The man said. "Good. I was starting to worry about you, buddy. The name's Ravio." He extended a hand to Link, but the youth remained motionless on the ground. "Hey, you listening to me? What, the rug tastes really good or something?" Ravio asked. Link slowly got back on to his feet. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I'm a traveling merchant." Ravio replied. "I found you in the Sanctuary. Passed out. Alone. Strange if you asked me. It looked like you needed a pal, so I took the liberty of lugging you here to this vacant house. Seemed like the perfect place for you to shake off the snores."

Link listened to the strange man's explanation, perplexed by both his appearance and actions. "Well, I appreciate the help, sir, but this is _my_ house." Link finally replied. "Say what? This is your house?" Ravio asked as he scratched the back of his head. "Looked empty-ish to me. So tell me... What happened to you, buddy?" Link paused for a minute, painful memories of the incident coming back to the surface. "I don't expect you to believe me. I don't believe it myself." Link began. "But I was on my way to the Sanctuary to deliver a sword to the Captain of the Guard. But when I arrived there, I saw a wizard named Yuga kidnap the priest's daughter! He used some magic to turn her into a painting. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't."

"You don't say?" Ravio replied. "Some strange man turned a girl into a painting? So you got done in trying to stop him, huh?" Link bowed his head in shame. "That makes you a hero, buddy! A real, live, genuine hero!"

"How am I a hero?" Link asked, not looking at Ravio. "I couldn't save Seres. I was an idiot who messed up." Ravio placed his hands on Link's shoulders. "Hey now, there's no need to be so down." Ravio said. "Sure, you didn't save the girl. But the fact that you were willing to give it your best shot makes you a true hero! I know I wouldn't have done that." Link slowly looked up to face Ravio. "I guess you're right." he said.

"Good, but why are you standing around talking to me then?" Ravio replied. "You gotta report this to the castle!" At that moment, Link remembered Priest Marcus's last words to warn Princess Zelda. "You're right!" Link said as he rushed for the door, but before he could leave, he was stopped by Ravio. "Oh! Hey! Wait a minute." he said. "What is it?" Link asked, slightly impatient. Ravio nervously twiddled his thumbs. "To tell you the truth, I've been looking for a place to stay." Ravio said. "It's been hard to find somewhere good. So, uh. This is awkward... Mind if I stay here for a while?"

"What?" Link asked.

"Just a couple of days, I promise!" Ravio said.

"But I just met you!" Link replied.

"Please? You don't know what it's like trying to get some shut-eye with all those creepy-crawlies!" Ravio pleaded as he began to bow at Link's feet. "I know it's your place, but I feel so at home here! Pretty please? With a cherry on top?" Link paused for a while to think. While he knew little about Ravio, it seemed completely unreasonable to just throw him out. With a resigned sigh, he said. "All right. You did save me, so I guess it's only fair."

"Really?! Thanks a million!" Ravio exclaimed as he stood back up. "Finally, no more sleeping in the wild. Tough world out there, you know? Here-take this. I can't pay rent yet. But it's something, at least." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out an antique bracelet. Link looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "I know it looks like a hunk of junk, but it's older than old." Ravio said. "A real treasure that thing!"

Link took another look at the bracelet. "It has an odor."

"What odor? You don't want it because it _smells_ funny?" Ravio asked. "That's the smell of history, buddy! Musty leather! Moldy aromas! The rich fragrance of a relic!" Link looked at Ravio with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. "OK, fine. I'll admit that it smells like a wet dog." Ravio said. "But you gotta know, that's a _good_ smell. Besides...it's a gift. So the least you could do is wear it, buddy!" Link gave another defeated sigh and reluctantly put on the bracelet. "Thanks, I suppose." Link said.

"Good. Now, pronto, buddy. To the castle! Hurry!" Ravio said.

"Before I go, do you know what happened to Priest Marcus?" Link asked.

"The priest? I dunno." Ravio replied. "He wasn't there when I got there, but I guess he's okay."

"Oh. Well, wish me luck!" Link said.

"Bye now! See ya, Mr. Hero!" Ravio said as Link walked out the door. Once outside, Link raced up the path straight to Hyrule Castle. To his luck, the outer gates were unlocked. Link ran past the soldiers practicing in the courtyard with the training dummys and straight for the door only to be stopped by a guard. "Whoa, hold your horses there!" the guard said. "Not just anyone gets into the palace. What are you doing here?"

"Sir, I must see Princess Zelda. This is an emergency!" Link said.

"What kind of emergency?" the guard asked.

"A sorcerer appeared at the Sanctuary and kidnapped Seres." Link replied. "He turned Seres into a painting, and Captain James too! We have to warn Princess Zelda!" The guard said nothing, but stared at Link with a raised eyebrow. "So let me get this straight: You say the captain was turned into WHAT now? A painting? And Seres was too? And Princess Zelda needs to know right away, huh?" The guard paused for a moment... then broke out into hysterical laughter, grabbing his sides in pain. It took him a while before he could calm himself to speak.

"Look, I get you want to see the princess, but that's a real WHOPPER of a story there!" he said.

"I'm _serious!_" Link practically whined. "The princess _needs_ to know about this!"

"That's what they all say kid." The guard replied.

"My word! What in all of Hyrule is all the shouting about, guard?" A female voice said. And out from the door stepped an elderly woman. She was an old woman with long purple hair. Her back was bent and she wore brown robes with a blue tabard on the front decorated with the Triforce symbol. She also wore a matching blue hat to go with it. This was Impa, attendant and vassal to Princess Zelda. Upon seeing her, the guard stood straight up. "I'm sorry, Lady Impa!" he said. "But this lad here has a message for Princess Zelda, and it's as far as far fetched gets!"

Impa then turned to look at Link, her sharp eyes gazing at him as if sizing him up. "Is that so? What is this message?"

"It's just like I told the guard, Lady Impa." Link said. "Seres was turned into a painting by a strange sorcerer named Yuga. I felt the princess needed to hear about this." Impa listened at the boy's explanation. "Indeed? Seres was transformed into a painting?" Impa asked incredulously. "But that's-! Well, frankly it's beyond belief." She then placed a hand on her chin to think. "Then again, strange paintings are popping up all over the castle." she muttered to herself. "There may be something to all this. Hmm, yes. I wonder..." Impa took another glance at Link. "Quickly come with me." she commanded. "You've got to tell Princess Zelda what you saw at the Sanctuary."

"You're taking this boy at his word, Lady Impa?" The guard asked. Impa didn't reply but walked back into the castle. "I guess that's that. Head on in." The guard said. Link gave a much needed sigh of relief, glad to see someone actually believed him. He could only hope the princess would be the same. Link followed Impa into the castle. Having never set foot inside the castle before, Link couldn't help but admire the beauty of it. There was red carpentry everywhere. There were also many stained glass windows decorating the room. On the wall in front of Link were five beautiful portraits. All of it came together to create the grand image of royalty.

"Wait here while I announce you to the princess." Impa said. "Feel free to take a close look at our gallery here... And please refrain from touching anything." And with that, Impa slowly trotted up the stairs to the upper part of the room, where the door to the throne room was located. Once she left the room, Link was approached by the Official. "The paintings here are spectacular." she said. "But they also tell of our legendary past-and of the Seven Sages. Look at the diamond symbols on the floor to tell the order of events. The descendants of the Seven Sages live among us today. It's no secret that Lady Impa is one of them!"

"And so was Seres." Link replied. That also made him think. Could that have been the reason Yuga kidnapped her? And if so, for what purpose? Brushing that aside, Link went to the painting on the far left with the single diamond symbol on the floor. It portrayed armies of soilders fighting over the famed Triforce. "Painting I: The Golden Triforce." he read to himself. "This gift from the gods, Hyrule's greatest treasure, will grant the wishes of any mortal who touches it. The Triforce once stroked greed in the hearts of men. A legendary war was fought to keep it out of evil hands."

Link then went to the portrait next to it with the twin diamond symbols on the floor. This one portrayed seven individuals gathered around a magic circle in the middle of the night. "Painting II: The Sealed Triforce." he said. "To end the war for the Triforce, the royal family decided to hide it in the Sacred Realm. They summoned the Seven Sages of legend, who used their power to seal the Triforce away."

He then moved to the portrait with three diamond symbols. This one portrayed a monstrous blue-skinned, boar-like creature. "Painting III: The Demon King. The Demon King Ganon was once just a thief-until the man broke into the Sacred Realm. There he stole the Triforce and transformed himself. Then he took his evil campaign back to Hyrule." Almost everyone knew about the Demon King Ganon, but mostly he was a sort of Hylian boogeyman used to frighten disobedient children. But as Link stared at the painting, something on the back of his mind was gnawing at him. He could've sworn he saw this creature before. But that's just it. Where has he seen hiim?

Link quickly moved on to the painting next to it. "Painting IV: The Hero Awakens. A hero of legend arose from humble beginnings, awoken to his purpose by a princess of Hyrule. With the Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane, he sought the descendants of the Seven Sages. Together they defeated the Demon King Ganon-and sealed him away in darkness." But it was the image that it portrayed that really made him freeze. It was Ganon locked in combat with a figure who was dressed much like Link. In his hand was the Hylian Shield and the Master Sword.

"Where have I seen this before...?" he asked. Upon a closer look, Link's eyes went wide as plates. He remembered where he saw this image. His mind immediately snapped back to his recurring dream. He found himself back in that dark void, locked in combat with the shadow monster. Only this time, the darkness began to recede and compress itself into a humanoid shape. The darkness then dispelled itself and in its place stood Ganon, the Demon King himself. He was a truly hideous sight. He was a blue-skinned humanoid boar clad in red and yellow armor. His shoulder guards had large, curved spikes on them and he wore a red cape. He also wore a necklace decorated with a skull and on his wrists were spiked bracelets. In his hand was a golden Trident as big as he was.

_"__I never imagined a boy like you could give me so much_ _trouble_." The Demon King snarled, his eerie, red eyes gleaming with malice. "___It's unbelievable that you defeated my alter-ego, Agahnim the Dark Wizard, twice! But I will **never** give you the Triforce! I will destroy you and make my wish to conquer both Light and Dark Worlds come true without delay!_"

"_Not while I still breathe, Ganon!_" Link's dream counterpart boasted as he charged at Ganon, blade raised to strike the monster down. But before the hit could connect, Ganon had teleported away, reappearing right next to him to swipe at him with his trident, sending him flying backwards into the wall through the sheer force of the blow. As Dream Link struggled to get to his feet, Ganon tossed his trident at Link. Link managed to avoid it in time and tried for another blow to his head only for the beast to teleport away to where his Trident landed.

Link himself, however, remained where he was, transfixed by the battle. It was just so surreal. He wasn't battling a shadow monster, he was battling Ganon himself. But why? Why would he be dreaming about battling the Demon King? What could it all mean? None of it any sense. Unfortunately for him, Link didn't get to ponder on it for long as he was soon brought back to reality by a hand on his shoulder. "Lad?" Impa called out. Startled, Link yelled and spun around, swatting the hand away. "Calm yourself, child!" Impa said. "It's only me. Are you alright? You look pale, almost as if you've seen a ghost."

"You could say that." Link replied. "Sorry. It's been hard to get a good night's sleep these past few nights and I think it's finally getting to me."

"Hmm. Well, either way, Princess Zelda is ready to see you now." Impa said. "Right this way, please." Impa went back up the stairs with Link silently following behind. Honestly, he was quite nervous. He had never met Zelda in person before and didn't know what to expect. But when he walked into the throne room, what he saw next made him gasp. But not because it was horrifying. Quite the opposite, actually. For what, or rather, who stood before him was the most beautiful sight he had ever laid eyes on.

The girl in front of him was a beautiful young girl with long, blonde hair. By the look of it, she was about Link's age. She wore a headband with a ruby gem emblazoned on it. She also wore earrings shaped like the famed Triforce. Her outfit was a white dress with a pink top. Much like Impa's, the front of her dress was decorated with the Triforce symbol. Her belt was decorated with twin tassels. She wore golden bracelets on her wrists. But her most beautiful features were her eyes. They were sky blue, much like Link's, and seemed filled to the brim with kindness, compassion, and innocence. This was Zelda, the famed princess of Hyrule.

"I bid you fondest welcome to Hyrule Castle, stranger." Zelda greeted with a smile that could melt even the stoniest of hearts. Snapped out of his trance, Link realized how uncivil he was acting. In a panic, he fell on bended knee. "Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty." Link said. "I-I was so caught up I forgot where I was. I-It's just I-I've never seen you in person before and-" Zelda merely raised her hand, nonverbally motioning the boy to silence. "Please, stand." She said in a tone that was both gentle but commanding. "From what I heard from Impa, there is no time for pleasantries. Besides, I'd much rather stand with my people than tower over them."

Link did as she commanded and rose to his feet. "Now, I hear that you have something to-? Wait... It's you...!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger at Link, who looked at her with an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Your Majesty? Have we met before?" he asked. Zelda paused to compose herself. "Forgive me, but might I ask your name?" Zelda asked.

"My name is Link." Link replied with a bow. "It's an honor to be in your presence, milady."

"Ah, while your name is unfamiliar to me, Link..." Zelda began "I've seen your face in my dreams as of late. For I've dreamt of a hero locked in battle with a terrible evil."

"Terrible evil..." Link trailed off. "If I may be so bold as to pry, would this dream happen to involve me fighting Ganon?"

"Why, yes!" Zelda replied. "How did you know?!"

"Believe it or not, I've been having the same dream." Link said. "And I find it highly unlikely it's just a coincidence that we both would be having the same dream."

"Indeed." Zelda said. "Surely fate must have sent you here! Please then, tell me what you saw at the Sanctuary."

Link took a breath before replying, not that the experience was traumatizing, but because he didn't want to recount his failure to save someone. "I don't expect you to believe me." He began slowly. "I'm not sure I believe it myself. But I was on my way to the Sanctuary to deliver a sword to the Captain of the Guard. But when I arrived there, I saw a wizard named Yuga kidnap the priest's daughter, Seres. He used some strange magic to turn her and the captain into a painting. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. I'm sorry." He held his head down, feeling inferior.

"So Seres had been transformed into a painting? the captain as well?' Zelda asked. "I sense a terrible darkness behind these events..." She then turned to Impa. "Oh Impa, I fear that evil is awakening once more in our fair land..." she said.

"Fret not, Princess." Impa replied. "I'd advise that we consult Sahasrahla for help. The elder's knowledge of the past... Well, it's more than vast."

"Yes, of course. That's just where to start." Zelda said. She then turned back to Link. "So, Link... Would you please find Sahasrahla? The elder should be at home in Kakariko Village. I'm certain he will be able to help!"

"I will." Link replied.

"Thank you." Zelda said. "Now there are just two more things. First of all, I notice that you have a sword, yet no shield. Now that just won't do. Which is why I wish to give you this." She went to the wall on her right and pressed a button. The wall opened up to a secret compartment containing a metal shield. The shield was blue and decorated with the crest of the Royal Family. Zelda took the shield and presented it to Link "This is the Hyilan Shield." Zelda said. "It was used by the previous hero who saved Hyrule and was given to my family. I think it would be put to far better use in your hands."

Link took the shield and put it on his back. "Also, there's just one more thing." Zelda said. "I would like to send you off with my most treasured possession. It's a rather special charm."

"Are you sure about this, Princess?" Impa asked, her brows creased with concern. "The Hylian Shield was one thing, but the royal family has kept that safe for untold generations!"

"Quite sure, Lady Impa." Zelda cheerfully replied. "Link will need all the help he can get if he wishes to overcome this evil. This has been in my safekeeping since the day I was born. Now I will entrust it to you. Guard this charm as you would your life. You will have need of it one day." She reached into her dressed and pulled out a small green pendant. It was a green bauble decorated with the symbol of Farore, the Goddess of Courage. Zelda placed the charm around Link's neck and he put it in his shirt.

"Thank you, Princess." Link replied. "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't." Zelda said. "Now please, tell Sahasrahla everything you saw."

"I will." Link then turned and left the throne room. Once he was gone, Impa went to Zelda's side and whispered in her ear. "Princess, are you sure it was wise to give him that?" she asked again.

"I'm quite sure, Lady Impa." Zelda replied. "If Link is indeed the one from my dream, then he may be Hyrule's only hope in stopping this encroaching evil."

"For Hyrule's sake, I pray you're right." Impa replied.

"So do I, old friend." Zelda said.

* * *

**Another chapter down! Link meets up with elder Sahasrahla in the next chapter.**

**Announcement: I'll be on a bit of a hiatus for the weekend. My aunt's coming to sleep at my house for the weekend and she'll be sleeping in the room where I have my computer. That means I won't be on as much, nor will I be able to upload chapters. By Monday though, everything should be normal again. So stay tuned in the meantime.**


	4. Chapter 4: Sahasrahla's Wisdom

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. After being rescued by a traveling merchant named Ravio, Link went to Hyrule Castle to warn Princess Zelda of the incoming danger. After talking with her, Link now heads to Kakariko village to seek out the elder Sahasrahla for his wisdom on how to combat the threat Yuga poses.**

After a successful audience with the Princess, Link instead decided to return home to check on his new houseguest. "Welcome back, Mr. Hero!" Ravio greeted as Link opened the door. "Hey Ravio." Link replied.

"Oh yeah." Ravio said. "So, you met with Princes Zelda?"

"Yep. Everything went well." Link replied.

"Lucky you, getting to meet her." Ravio said. "She as pretty as they say?"

"She's everything and more." Link replied, his tone a bit more lovestruck than he intended it to be. "So, how's things with you here?"

"Me? I'm just happy to have a roof over my head." Ravio replied. "First time in a while-thanks to you, Mr. Hero!"

"You're welcome." Link said. "And you can just call me Link."

"I know." Ravio said. "But I like calling you 'Mr. Hero' cause you're a real lifesaver!"

"Well, I got to go to Kakariko Village to talk to Sahasrahla." Link replied. "But I just came to check on you. If you need anything, just tell me."

"I will. See you later!" Ravio replied. Link then walked out the door and made his way to Kakariko Village, killing the occasional Chu-Chu that crossed his path. But when he made his way to Ienzo's house. He saw Madison standing outside. Her face was fraught with worry. "What's wrong, Madison?" Link asked as he approached her. "Have you seen my little Gulley anywhere, Link?" Madison asked. "I'm sure he's just playing somewhere nearby. But people have been talking about...monsters."

"I haven't seen him since this morning." Link replied. "But I'm sure he's okay."

"Well, if you happen to see him, tell him to hurry home." Madison replied.

"Don't worry, I will." Link said. He then walked into the house to check on Ienzo. "Hey! You get that sword to the captain yet, Link?" Ienzo asked. "Well..." Link trailed off. "...It's kinda complicated. I don't expect you to believe me, but the short version is that the Captain and Seres were turned into paintings and I'm currently running an errand for the princess." Ienzo listened to Link's story, a bushy eyebrow raised in both confusion and suspicion. "You still asleep or dreaming or something?" Ienzo asked. "Get it together!"

"Yeah, I kinda expected you not to believe me." Link dejectedly replied.

"Well, whatever." Ienzo said. "I've got something else on my mind. Have you seen Gulley anywhere? Reason I ask is that people have been seeing monsters around here."

"I know. Madison told me." Link replied. "I haven't seen Gulley since this morning, but I'm sure he's okay."

"Gulley's a chip off the ol' block, so I'm not all that concerned." Ienzo said. "But the wife is. So, I'm worried for _her. _If you see Gulley, tell him to get home, will you?" Link nodded and went out the door. He then went right into Kakariko Village, but before he went to speak with the elder, he took a detour to the nearby forest. That's where he found Gulley sitting on a tree stump in the center of the forest, surrounded by animals. "Hey, you've come to play with me, Link?" Gulley asked as Link approached him, causing the animals to run off. "So did all those animals! They always come running when I show up. They run off if anyone else comes along... I wonder why. The more the merrier-that's what I think!"

"Gulley, Ienzo and Madison are worried sick about you." Link said. "That and there are monsters running around. I really think you should head on home."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that." Gulley replied with that naive, childlike innocence. "I'm sure I'll be able to make friends with them too!"

"Gulley, I'm serious!" Link said. "Not everyone you meet is gonna be friendly. Now you really should go home."

"Oh c'mon, Link!" Gulley pleaded. "Just a little while longer! Please?" Link gave a defeated sigh. "One hour." he said sternly. "After that, you head on home or I drag you home. Understood?"

"Thanks, Link!" Gulley said as he tightly embraced him. "Okay, okay!" Link chuckled. "I have to run an errand. I'll be back to check on you later, okay?"

"Okay! See ya, Link." Gulley replied as Link left. A few minutes later, a man stepped out of the shadows of the trees. He was a slender, effeminate man with albino skin, a pointed nose, and red, braided hair. He wore purple eyeliner around his eyes, lipstick, and diamond earrings. His clothing consisted of a headband decorated with a ruby gem, a black robe with a reversed Triforce symbol on his chest, a purple cape with red trimming, puffy blue pants with black stripes and yellow elf shoes. In his hand, he held a strange, golden staff whose top glowed with a rainbow fire, making it resemble a cross between a torch and a paintbrush.

"Who are you?" Gulley asked as the man approached him.

"Hello there, little lad." The man replied with a seemingly kind tone. "It's highly rude to ask for a person's name without first giving your own."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Gulley replied. "My papa said so."

"Your father's a very wise man." the man replied. "My name is Yuga. And you are?"

"My name's Gulley." Gulley replied.

"Ah! An honor to make your acquaintance." Yuga replied cheerfuly. "So, now we know each other, correct?"

"I guess so." Gulley said. "I'd better go."

"Wait!" Yuga said. "I can't yet you leave yet. You see, my boy. I'm a traveling artist. I make paintings. And if you don't mind. I'd like to make a painting for you."

"Really?! Gee, that'd be great!" Gulley said.

"Excellent!" Yuga exclaimed. "Now stand on the tree stump and stay perfectly still. Also, close your eyes." Gulley did as Yuga commanded and stood on the tree stump, closing his eyes. "Okay, I'm ready!" Gulley said. "Hold still now, this has to be just perfect." Yuga's staff began to glow with magic and he waved his staff, firing a blast of magic from it at Gulley. Gulley screamed as the magic enveloped him. In a flash of light, he was transformed into a painting with a green frame. His face frozen in abject terror.

"Ah, there's nothing so beautiful as the innocence of children." Yuga said. "And I capture it quite well!" He broke out into laughter. But then he stopped to think. "But there was that boy from the Sanctuary. I wonder... could he know something about my plan?" He remained in silent thought before shaking his head. "Oh, please. He's just a boy. He couldn't possibly stop me." he said, before looking at his newly earned prize. "Still, best to err on the side of caution." He then made his way towards Hyrule Castle.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, at Kakariko Village...**_

With that done, Link finally headed back into Kakariko Village. As he walked towards Sahasrahla's house, he bumped into a man with blond hair who wore a white shirt with a black vest and wore orange gloves and yellow pants. His most noticeable feature was the boots he wore, which had small wings on them. Before Link could do anything, he ended up knocking the two of them down. "Watch where your going, kid!" the man shouted at Link. "I'm sorry sir! I didn't see you there." Link replied. "Listen, kid, I didn't do it. Whatever it was. So just leave me alone, OK?" And with that, the man took off, running far faster than a normal person. "That was weird." Link muttered.

Brushing that aside, he made his way to the elder's house. It was a large house with two doors and a roof made of straw. Link had visited Sahasrahla many times before, usually when running errands for Ienzo. He walked into the door on the right where Sahasrahla's room was located. Sahasrahla's room was what one would expect from one so intellectual. It was loaded to the brim with books on virtually every subject, all neatly filed away on book shelves and categorized in alphabetical order.

Sahasrahla himself was at his desk sleeping. He was on old man with an abnormally large head dressed in a green robe with purple tabard on it. In his hand was his trusty walking staff. "...Zzz...zzz...zzz...ess Zelda...zzz...zzz...Master...zzz...Sword..." The elder mumbled in his sleep. Link slowly walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Agh!" Sahasrahla shouted, nearly hitting Link with his staff. "Oh dear. Dozed off again." Sahasrahla said. He then turned to see Link next to him. "It's you, Link!" he said. "What a pleasant surprise! But the look on your face! So grim, child. What's the matter?"

"Hello, Sahasrahla." Link replied. "Sorry this visit isn't under better circumstances, but we've got a big problem. A sorcerer named Yuga turned Seres into a painting and kidnapped her!"

"What?! she was turned into a painting and stolen away? Surely you jest!" Sahrasrahla said.

"I only wish it was a joke." Link replied.

"And Princess Zelda sent you here to tell me..." the elder trailed off. "Ah, I see. This can mean only one thing. I'm sure you've heard the legends of old. About the Seven Sages? And the hero who saved Hyrule?"

"Of course. Eveyrone does." Link replied. "The Seven Sages were the ones who sealed the Triforce away to keep Hyrule from collapsing into war. The Triforce was then stolen by the Demon King Ganon, but he was defeated by a Hero with the help of the Seven Sages."

"Correct." Sahasrahla replied. "Seres is a descendant of the original Seven Sages who sealed Ganon in darkness all those years ago. This Yuga you speak of, he must be after the Seven Sages of our day. He surely intents to free Ganon." But that's when the old man's eyes stretched wide as plates, a look of pure horror washed over his features. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "When I heard rumors of a strange man lurking near the Eastern Palace, I sent my pupil Osfala to investigate. I've put him in danger, for he's also a descendant of the Seven Sages! I'm sure Yuga will be waiting for him! I'll never make it in time to warn him! But you, Link... Could you hurry to Osfala and tell him everything? Please!"

"I will." Link replied.

"Good." Sahasrahla then took Link's map and drew an X where the Eastern Palace would be. "I've made note of the location of the Eastern Palace on your map. There's no time to lose. Go now, quickly! I'll catch up with you as soon as I can!"

"You can count on me!" Link said as he ran out of the house and out of the village, running as fast as his legs would carry him as he made his way towards the Eastern Palace. But when he got to the Eastern Gate, he quickly saw that it was locked. There were twin switches and twin stone pedestals that had markings in the shape of a bow and arrow on them. But the most interesting thing were the twin, bunny-shaped signs that read. "_Hey! Are you the adventuring type? Then have I got the ITEMS for you! Visit me south of the castle! -Ravio_."

"With there being no other way to get to the Eastern Palace, Link hurriedly made his way back home. "Welcome home, Mr. Hero!" Ravio said as Link entered the house. "You said it was all right to stay here, so I've made myself at-!"

"No time for that!" Link shouted. "This is an emergency!"

"What happened?" Ravio asked.

"What's with the signs at the Eastern Palace?" Link asked.

"Oh, those." Ravio said. "I was going to open a store near the palace, but when I saw all the monsters, I hightailed it out of there! Way too many monsters around there for my liking, you get me?" He then placed a hand on his chin. "But I seem to recall some stone pedestals near my signs. Did you see a symbol on them?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did." Link replied.

"Oh you did?" Ravio asked. "Well, do you remember what the symbol was?"

"It was shaped in a bow and arrow." Link replied.

"That's right! It was a bow and arrow!" Ravio exclaimed. "Remind you of anything? Like maybe... THIS?" He then pulled out an actual bow and arrow that was decorated with small bunny ears from his bag and gave it to Link. "You're just giving this to me?" Link asked, not out of ingratitude. "No, just renting it to you." Ravio replied. "Normally, I'd charge you a rental fee, but I'll lend it to you for free. This time, anyway. But I'll be taking that back if anything happens to you out there."

"Gee, thanks!" Link said.

"No worries!" Ravio replied. "It's the least I could do after you let me stay here. I hope my items will prove useful to you, Mr. Hero."

"I'm sure they will." Link said as he walked out of the house. He ran back to the Eastern Gate and walked up the small steps. Taking careful aim, he fired a single arrow into both of the switches, opening the gates. With the gates open, he made his way towards the Eastern Palace. Along the way, he was attacked by Armos, statues that would come to life whenever Link came near them. He was also attacked by Tekkites, spider-like creatures that could jump very high.

Fighting his way through the monster-infested plains, he made his way to the door of the palace. There he found Osfala. Osfala was a young man with white hair who was dressed almost identically to Sahasrahla, wearing a yellow robe with a high collar and a purple tabard at the front which was decorated with a blue jewel and the Triforce symbol. In his hand was a strange rod with a white jewel that had bunny ears on it much like Link's bow.

"You. Stop where you are!" Osfala demanded. "What are you doing here at the Eastern Palace?"

"Wait. It's just me." Link replied as he walked up to Osfala.

"Oh, my apologies." Osfala said. "I though you were someone I'm looking for. Aren't you, Link? You're the blacksmith's apprentice, right? But what brings you all the way to the Eastern Palace?"

"Sahasrahla sent me." Link replied. "A man named Yuga is kidnapping the descendants of the Seven Sages. He took Seres when I went to the Sanctuary and you could be next. Sahasrahla wants you to come back to the village right away."

"Vile deeds at the Sanctuary?" Osfala asked. "My master sent you to fetch me back to safety?" The young sage broke out into hearty laughter. "This Yuga you speak of... Surely he's cause for grave concern. But why should Sahasrahla be worried about me? I'm a descendant of the original Seven Sages. I'm just as powerful as they were." He held up the rod in his hand. "I even got myself a Sand Rod, so I'm more or less invincible. Bold talk, you might say, but it's simply the truth."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Link protested. "Captain James is the best soldier in the army and_ he_ couldn't stop him! You've got to come back to the village!"

"I apprecieate your concern, really I do." Osfala said. "But you needn't worry about me. I'll get to the bottom of all this Yuga nonsense. Now farewell to you, Link." And with that, Osfala went inside the Palace. "Osfala wait!" Link shouted as he ran after him.

* * *

**That's another chapter out of the way. Next chapter, Link faces off against Yuga. I can tell you now that it's gonna be hard for me because I don't know how I'm gonna work out the dungeons in the game. But I'm sure I'll think of something. Stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Eastern Palace

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Link had went to Kakariko Village to seek advice from the elder Sahasrahla in order to stop Yuga. Sahasrahla tells Link that Yuga is no doubt attempting to free the Demon King Ganon by kidnapping the Seven Sages. The elder also tells Link that he sent his pupil Osfala, one of the Seven Sages, to investigate strange goings-on at the Eastern Palace. Fearing that Osfala may be Yuga's next target, Sahasrahla sends Link to the Eastern Palace to retrieve him.**

"Osfala! Where are you!" Link called out when he entered the palace. It seemed as if Osfala had disappeared without a trace. "Reckless idiot." he muttered to himself. He was about to investigate further until he saw a gap in the floor. He then saw a switch on the opposite edge. On instinct, he fired an arrow at the switch, causing two platforms to form a floor. Link crossed it and went out of the room and across the bridge into another room. This room was larger, with upper and lower floors. But the most noticeable feature were the continuous stream of metal balls that rolled from one hole into another.

Observing them, Link noticed a pattern. Two small balls would appear before one big one. With this in mind, Link made his way across the narrow corridor, taking care to avoid the balls by hiding in small gaps. He made it across only to find that the door was locked. And the other doors in the room would not open. He went to his left and up some stairs to the upper part of the room and found a floor switch in between two Armos statues. He pressed the switch and the door to his right opened. At that moment, one of the Armos statues came to life. Link dispatched it with a shot from his bow and moved on.

The _next_ room had a large, bottomless pit in it. In the center of the room was a walkway with a moving platform that would steadily rise and fall. On the other side of the room, he saw a treasure chest on top of a ledge that looked out of reach. He also took note of two switches on in the room on platforms. He first fired an arrow at the top switch to make the platform where the treasure chest was, then quickly fired an arrow at the other switch to lower the platform next to the chest. He quickly ran to open the chest to see that inside was a small key.

Thinking he could use it to unlock the door in the main room, he went through the door on his left and unlocked the door. He took the stairs up to the second floor of the palace, only to suddenly be locked in. Trying to avoid panic, Link walked on a switch in the center of the room. That caused the four Armos statues in the room to come to life and slowly advance towards Pit. Link remained calm and stood in place with sword extended. As the Armos closed in on him, Link spun in place with a Spin Attack, dispatching them all at once. With them gone, the doors in the room unlocked themselves.

"Okay, which way do I go?" Link asked himself. Unsure what to do, Link pulled out a small Rupee from his pocket, placed it on the ground, and spun it around. The Rupee pointed to the door on his right. Unfortunately for Link, the room he found himself in had traps that fired arrows. Link walked with the Hylian shield raised in front of him to deflect the arrows. Link walked up some stairs with the shield still raised to the upper part of the room. He then walked to his left to see there was a floor switch. He pressed it to unlock the door. He then jumped off the ledge onto the lower part of the room and left.

The next room he found himself in was larger than most, with another bottomless pit in the floor. There were also more arrow switches located in the room. But the most noticeable feature was the large, foreboding door in the center. Link ran to it and attempted to open it, but he could not reach it. He saw an arrow switch next to him and fired an arrow at it, causing a section of the floor to began rising and falling. went back to the arrow switch near the door he entered in and fired an arrow at it. That caused another part of the floor to began rising. Link stood on the moving part of the floor and fired an arrow at the other switch that was out of reach. That unlocked the door next to him.

Link went through the door and found himself in a room that was more or less another bottomless pit. In the center of the room was a platform with four switches. Four other platforms were floating around it. There were also arrow traps on the wall to the right. Using his shield to avoid the arrow traps, Link carefully shot arrows at each of the switches. That caused a small chest to appear. Link opened the chest and in it was another small key. He took the key with him and left the room.

He then went to the left side of the room where the locked door was and used the key to unlock it. He went through the door only for it to lock him in with three Stalfoses. The Stalfoses tossed bones at him while jumping around. Link defended with his shield and retaliated with arrows. Eventually, the Stalfoses were defeated. Their defeat caused a portion of the floor to lower itself, revealing a large chest. Link opened the chest. In it was another key, this one was larger than the ones he had before. It was bronze-colored and shaped like a demon.

"Guess I can use it to unlock that huge door." Link said to himself. He then walked up some stairs onto a catwalk on the other side of the room that led into another switch. He hit the switch with his sword and a rumble occurred, but it felt as though nothing had changed. He walked back through the door and into the main room to find that another arrow switch had been revealed. He stood on the moving part of the floor and fired an arrow into the switch. That caused the main bridge to flip over to a more slanted one, allowing Link to reach the big door.

Link unlocked the door with the Big Key he found, but what he saw on the other side was a horrifying sight. Yuga had Osfala floating in the air, writhing in agony as magical light enveloped him. "Ha! After all your posing, all your preening...just look at you now!" Yuga taunted at the struggling youth. "L-L-Let me go!" Osfala struggled to say. "I'm afraid I can't do that." Yuga replied. "Now, my fine fellow, prepare to be made into my latest work of art! You'll have a privileged place in my collection of Sages!" And with a wave of his staff, he transformed Osfala into a yellow-framed painting.

"Aha! An excellent painting!" Yuga exclaimed as he made Osfala's painting disappear. "What a knack I have for capturing the smallest details _just_ so."

"Osfala, NO!" Link exclaimed. Yuga turned to see Link glaring at him. "Oh? Who-? You're that wriggling worm I saw at the Sanctuary!" he said. "What, have you come to challenge me again? I don't have time to coddle would-be heroes."

"You took Seres and you took Osfala!" Link said as he drew his blade, "And I'll make you pay for it!"

"Look, child." Yuga mockingly replied. "I'm very busy right now and I don't have time to grind my heel into a brat like you, but since you insist... I will oblige." Link, however, made the first move and leapt into the air for an overhead strike with his sword. Yuga remained unfazed and melded into the wall just as the sword struck. He then melded out of the wall and swung his staff in an attempt to knock Link into the pit in the center of the room, but Link rolled behind Yuga to slash at his back. Yuga let out a pained scream and summoned yellow portraits that fired lightning bolts.

Link screamed as the lightning seared his body. Yuga used the opportunity to summon green soldier enemies to attack Link. Link dispatched the soldiers with his sword, but Yuga remained in the walls, out of reach from his blade. But he quickly got an idea. pulling out his Bow, he took careful aim. The moment Yuga revealed himself, Link fired an arrow at the sorcerer. The arrow hit Yuga directly in his jeweled headband, stunning the sorcerer long enough for Link to attack with several furious sword swings.

Eventually, Yuga merged into the wall and fled to another part of the room. He then radiated with electricity as he stamped his foot angrily. He then summoned red portraits that spat fireballs. Link dodged the fireballs and fired another arrow to stun Yuga. Before Yuga could do anything, Link made a slash across his chest. The sorcerer screamed in pain as he was driven to his knees. "Enough of this!" Yuga said between breaths and through gritted teeth. "You're going to spoil everything!"

He then rose to his feet as his staff began to glow. "You've forced my hand! I must brush you aside!" Link tried to defend against the incoming blast of magic with his shield, but was too late. Link was blown back to the wall, instantly transformed into a painting. "What a sad, drab painting you make." Yuga spat. "You can rot there for all I care." He then merged into the wall and left through a crack. "Now, onward. My collection requires even more perfect paintings!" He cackled. "Oh, how I long to hang that exquisite Princess Zelda on my wall..."

Meanwhile, Link remained stuck in the wall. It seemed that was it. There was nothing else he could do. Imprisoned in paint, All Link could do was move his eyes and think. "_I couldn't save Seres, I couldn't save Captain James, and now I couldn't save Osfala._" he thought. "_But I can't just give up! Princess Zelda is depending on me! **Hyrule** is depending on me! I gotta do **something!**_" But trapped within the wall, it seemed only a miracle could save Link. But just then, the strangest thing occurred. His bracelet, given to him by Ravio, began glowing with eerie purple light. Slowly but surely, Link could feel himself being pulled out of the wall until he fell onto the floor.

Link rose to his feet and stared at his bracelet with awe. It was as if the goddesses themselves had answered his cry with an act of divine providence. Link then merged with the wall to confirm his suspicions. He could now meld into walls like Yuga! He couldn't help but smile to himself. With this new power, he might be able to stop Yuga yet! Going through the same crack in the wall Yuga did, Link found himself outside of the temple. Carefully navigating the moving platforms and walls, Link managed to make his way to the entrance of the Palace. He went outside to find Sahasrahla awaiting him.

"Ah, my lad! You've finally found your way back out of the Eastern Palace!" Sahasrahla happily exclaimed. His expression then became worried and puzzled. "But what of Osfala?" he asked. Link bowed his head down in shame, not wanting to recount yet another failure on his part. "I'm sorry, sir. I was too late." He said sadly.

"No...! Yuga has taken Osfala too?!" Sahasrahla exclaimed. "Worse still, he now has two of our Sages!"

"And I'm afraid that's not all." Link began. "He plans to take Princess Zelda too."

"What?! We mustn't let that happen!" Sahasrahla said. But at that moment, the ground shook with a thunderous quake. "My word! What was _that?!_" the elder exclaimed. "It sounded like it came from Hyrule Castle. Was it an earthquake?" Link asked. "Impossible!" Sahasrahla said. "Hyrule hasn't had an earthquake in years! Are we too late? Something dire is happening at Hyrule Castle! There's no time to waste!" He then turned to leave with Link following behind him.

* * *

_**At Hyrule Castle...**_

Link and Sahasrahla made it to Hyrule Castle and were stunned by what they saw. The Castle was surrounded by a strange barrier of dark energy. The sky around the Castle had darkened. "Wh-what is going on here?!" the elder asked. He walked to the barrier and attempted to hit it with his staff only to be repelled. "That barrier! I've never seen such magic! I daren't approach it." he said. "But we must break through somehow. Princess Zelda and Lady Impa are trapped inside the castle!"

He then turned to Link. "Listen well, Link. We must again turn to the legend of old for our solution." He said. "These abominable events are an echo of what happened all those years ago. Then, when the castle was in the grip of evil, the hero of that day found the Master Sword. The hero first had to claim the three Pendants of Virtue to prove himself worthy of the blade. But there we are already thwarted. For one of those pendants is _inside_ the castle with Princess Zelda! Oh what a quandary. We need her pendant, but there's no way to get it."

Link stood and listened to the elder's explanation, but when he mentioned a pendant, that made Link's face light up with realization. "Pendant?" He asked before reaching into his shirt and pulling out the green charm Zelda gave him. "You mean _this?_" At the sight of the pendant, Sahasrahla gasped. "Wh-what's that?!" Sahasrahla asked. "It can't be! You're wearing-! That's the Pendant of Courage! What in Hyrule are you doing with it, Link?"

"Pendant of Courage?" Link asked. "Princess Zelda gave this to me. She told me it was a charm and that I should keep it safe cause I might need it later."

"She gave it to you? A special charm?" the elder asked. "How right she was. She must have sensed the evil in Hyrule-and the need of a new hero to meet it."

"Well, she _did_ say that she dreamt of me fighting a terrible evil." Link said, not trying to sound boastful.

"So it is you?" the elder asked. "It must be. Why else would the princess have given you the Pendant of Courage? She knew you would need to get the Master Sword! Well then, my young hero, you've got quite a quest ahead of you. You have to find the other two pendants."

"Okay, tell me where they are." Link said.

"One pendant has been enshrined in the House of Gales." Sahasrahla replied. "And the other pendant, in the Tower of Hera. I will mark those spots on your map, Link." He took Link's map and drew red X's where the two pendants would be. "I shall head home to search my library for clues to who the other Seven Sages of our day might be. So for now, it's all up to you, Link!" He said as as he left the area. "Don't worry, sir! You can count on me!" Link said as he headed to his house.

He had to pay a certain merchant a visit.

* * *

**Well, that's the fifth chapter down. Many more to come. Stay tuned for the next one! And I should tell you that not all the dungeons will be described the same way as they are done in game. I might change them up. But you'll see in later chapters. **


	6. Chapter 6: Something Fishy

**Previous Chapter Recap: Previously on _A Link Between Worlds_. Under instruction of Sahasrahla, Link went to the Eastern Palace to find Osfala, Sahasrahla's pupil and one of the Seven Sages. After exploring the temple, he found that Yuga had already captured him and turned him into a painting. Link engaged Yuga in battle, but was turned into a painting as well, only to escape thanks to Ravio's bracelet, which had granted him the power to turn into a painting at will. After meeting up with Sahasrahla, the two found Hyrule Castle surrounded by an impenetrable barrier of Yuga's creation. Sahasrahla theorizes that the only way to dispel the barrier would be to find the three Pendants of Virtue and obtain the Master Sword. Luckily for them, Zelda had thought ahead and given Link the Pendant of Courage when he first visited the castle. Now Link must find the other two pendants to save Zelda.**

"_This has been one crazy day_." Link thought to himself as he walked toward his house. He couldn't help but think on how this all started. At first, he was a mere blacksmith's apprentice out to run an errand. Now he was involved in the very fate of this kingdom. It also made him worry. He had already failed to save Seres and Osfala. What if he failed to save the rest of the sages? What if he failed to save Hyrule itself?! He immediately shook it off. He couldn't fail. He _wouldn't_ fail! Not when so many depended on him.

He finally reached his house and opened the door to find Ravio drinking tea and Shreerow eating bird seed. "Hey, welcome back, little hero!" he greeted.

"Hey Ravio." Link replied. "You will not believe what happened to me."

"What happened, buddy?" Ravio asked.

"Well, after I met Sahasrahla, I went to the Eastern Palace to find his student Osfala." Link began. "But then that creep Yuga appeared and kidnapped him. I tried to fight him but he turned me into a painting too! But that's when things really got weird." Link then showed Ravio his bracelet, which glowed with purple light. "Your bracelet saved me! It somehow stole Yuga's magic and gave me the power to turn into a painting when I want."

"My bracelet did what now?" Ravio asked. "Are you just pulling my leg?"

"No! I'll show you, look!" Link said. He then went to the nearest wall and melded with it, turning into a painting. "Ta-da!" he said. Ravio was so stunned by the display of magic that he jumped from the table, dropping his cup of tea. "Holy Din!" He exclaimed. "How do you do that?!"

"I was gonna ask _you_ that!" Link replied. "You didn't tell me your bracelet was magic!"

"Even I didn't know it could do that." Ravio said. "Huh. Who knew? Pretty neat that you could turn into a painting. Wowie-wow, I wish I was you! I wonder if I could steal that power from this weird Yuga guy too..." He then began to think on this for a while before shaking his head. "No, what am I thinking...? I'm not cut out for that sort of stuff! I'd probably screw it all up somehow and get stuck on some dungeon wall! I couldn't bear it! Stuck there forever and ever?! Oh yeah, i should leave that kind of tough work to heroes. For sure."

"Anyway, I just came to check on you and to say thanks." Link said. "If it wasn't for your bracelet, I'd be a goner. That's twice I owe you for saving my life."

"I'd better not make a habit of it." Ravio jokingly chuckled.

"Anyhow, I'd better go." Link said. "I got a lot of work ahead of me. I'll come back later."

"Okay, see you, Mr. Hero." Ravio replied. Link walked out the door, but as soon as he did, he saw Madison walk by the house. She looked even more worried than when Link last saw her. "Yoo-hoooo! Gulley! It's time to come home!" she called out. "He must not be able to hear me. Oh I hope he hasn't gotten himself lost in those woods down south..." That reminded Link. He told Gulley to go home after an hour. Knowing him he probably stayed longer.

Deciding to go check on his surrogate brother, Link ran to the woods down south where he last saw Gulley. When he got there, he saw Madison at the wood's entrance. "Link, it's you." Madison said. "Have you seen Gulley? I think he's playing around here somewhere."

"I saw him in the woods." Link replied. "I told him to head on home. I thought he had gone home by now."

"He hasn't." Madison replied. "And I have the strangest feeling... like...oh, I don't know. Call it a mother's instinct. Just keep an eye out for my little guy. OK, Link?"

"Don't worry, I'll find him." Link replied. He went into the woods to begin searching, but what he saw next was frightening and heartbreaking. Gulley was gone! Vanished! All that remained in his place was a small brown bag. "No..." Link trailed off. "Oh, Link!" Madison shouted, running behind him. "Have you seen Gulley in here?" She asked. "He's not here." Link said sadly. Madison's eyes then turned to the pouch in his hand. "W-wait! Did you just find that pouch?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was here on the stump." Link answered.

"Oh, my stars! Gulley had that!" Madison exclaimed. "I made it for you so you could carry more items. But he insisted on being the one who gave it to you. If you found it here, then where is my Gulley? Oh, how awful! I had better tell my husband. I'm sure we can find him somehow. We _have_ to!" She then turned to leave. "But please-you should use that pouch so I won't have to worry about_ you_ quite as much!" As she left, Link sat on the stump and thought to himself. "_Where could Gulley've gone? It doesn't make any sense! Maybe Sahasrahla knows where he is._"

Link then ran towards Kakariko Village and to Sahasrahla's house. "Sahasrahla!" Link shouted. "Yes, Link? What is it?" the elder asked. "Have you seen Gulley, the blacksmith's son? I can't find him anywhere!" Sahashrahla sadly lowered his head. "It's just as I feared." he said. "What?" Link asked. "Through my research, I managed to locate some of the remaining sages of our day." Sahasrahla began. "And one of them... is your friend Gulley." At the sound of those words, Link fell to his knees, tears rolling down his eyes. "No..." He said.

"If you cannot locate him, it can only mean Yuga has captured him." Sahasrahla said.

"That stupid kid." Link said as he punched the floor. "I told him to go home. I should've _made_ him go home! I should've _dragged_ him home if that's what it'd took!"

"You cannot blame yourself, my friend." Sahasrahla replied as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't have known."

"It doesn't matter." Link said. "I should've been there, I could've stopped him. Some hero I am."

"You can't be everywhere." Sahasrahla said. "Nor can you just give up. Princess Zelda gave you that pendant because she believed in you. And so do I. You are this kingdom's last hope. You must obtain the Master Sword. Only then can you hope to repel the evil that blights the land." Link remained silent for a few moments, then dried his eyes. "You're right." Link said as he got to his feet. "So what's the plan?"

"I will continue to find and warn the other sages." Sahasrahla said. "You must find the two pendants. Your next location is the House of Gales down south. You know where it is. I marked it on your map."

"But, it looks surrounded by water." Link replied. "And I can't swim."

"Not to worry my boy." Sahasrahla replied. "I recommend seeking help from the Zoras. They live up the river near the waterfall."

"Okay, thank you Sahasrahla." Link then left the bulding and began to make his way to the waterfall when all of a sudden, he met the strangest sight. He saw a young girl flying on a broom. The girl had blue hair and was dressed in a black gown with a matching black stereotypical witch hat. By the look of it, she couldn't have been no older than Link. "Whoa! Hold up a second, greenie!" she called out when she noticed Link. Link looked around, thinking she might have been talking to someone else. "Who me?" He asked. "Yeah, I'm talking to you!" the witch replied. "Someone eles wearing a green hat?"

The girl hovered down next to Link. "Who are you?" Link asked. "Who am I? Haven't you heard of me? I'm Irene, best witch of my generation!" the witch replied. "Still a junior witch, but whatever."

"Okay... My name's Link. It's nice to meet you, Irene, but what do you want with me?" Link asked.

"All right. Get this." Irene replied. "I had my fortune told this morning, right? And I was told I'd soon be visited by diaster. DISASTER! But if I want to change my future, I should take care of...green. I was like, GREEN? What I should take care of the grass? I'm not mowing every lawn in Hyrule! Forget that. I'm a witch on the rise! And then you came along-and then it all made sense. I've got to take care of you, greenie. So here. Take this thing." she then handed Link a bell. "What's this for?" Link asked.

"Been seeing all those weather vanes all over the place. Just ring that bell, and I'll fly you to any ones you've found. Normally, I don't take passengers, but I'd rather haul you all over Hyrule than face disaster. Anyway, gotta fly. I have errands to run for my gram. Later!"

"Bye. Thanks, Irene!" Link replied as the young witch fled to the sky. "Oh, right. Once more thing. My gram's a world-class potion brewer. Her shop is behind the Eastern Palace." Irene said. "I'd strongly suggest you go look her up. Her potions can't be beat. See, I'm looking out for you already greenie."

"Well, can you take me there?" Link asked. "I was traveling up there now."

"Eh, what the heck." Irene replied. "I might as well get used to it. Grab on." Link held on to Irene's broom as the witch took to the air. In a short time, the two made it to her grandmother's house. "Okay, here you go." Irene said. "Remember, anytime you need me, just give that bell a ring." She flew into the air again, leaving Link alone. He went into the house to see an elderly witch stirring a green potion in a cauldron. There were also smaller pots with red, blue, yellow, and purple potions. "A customer?" she asked. "Welcome to my shop! What can I do you for?"

"Hello, ma'am." Link replied. "I met your granddaughter Irene. She said you make great potions."

"Indeed I do!" she replied. "Would you like one? 50 Rupees each." Link took out four bottles and scooped up red potions for health. He gave the witch the money and left. He then looked to his left to see a weird humanoid fish. It had green scales and wore a blue cape. This was one of the Zora, a race of amphibious people who lived in Hyrule. They were ruled by a queen much like Princess Zelda ruled the Hylians. "What's wrong, sir?" Link asked. "The bridge is broken." The Zora replied. "Some guy just dashed by and jumped it, though. Me, I could never do that. I suppose there's nothing to do but swim to Zora's Domain."

"Well, I can't swim." Link replied.

"Hey, just like me." The Zora said. "We're like brothers, swimless friend. And we both can't get to Zora's Domain either." Link took a look at the gap where the bridge was. He then got an idea. Using his new bracelet, he melded into the wall and walked to the other side. "What a special ability!" The Zora exclaimed, having watched the feat. "That's about as special as they come!" Link couldn't hear him as he made his way to Zora's Domain. His only obstacles were the occasional crab and crow. When he reached the entrance to the domain, he saw the same suspicious character from Kakariko Village walk out. Before Link could do anything, he ran right into him.

"Youch! Watch where you're going!" he shouted. "Wait a second. You're that kid who was giving me the evil eye back in the village! What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I'm going see the Zoras." Link said.

"Tch, whatever. Outta my way!" The man demanded as he sped away with the speed of the wind. Just then, Link heard a voice saying, "The queen, the queen! Please help somebody! HELP!" he then entered the domain. He had never met the Zora queen, but was told that she was every bit as beautiful as Zelda. What he saw next, however, led him to believe those sayings were very exaggerated. The queen was lounging in a pool of purple liquid. She had bloated to gargantuan size and looked to be in agony. Around her stood three Zora underlings. "The queen is in a sea of trouble! We've got to do something!" the one in the yellow cape said.

"But what? That guy doesn't even _know_ the trouble he caused!" the other in the purple cape said. "It's getting worse by the second! I can't believe that guy came in and stole the smooth gem right out from under our gills!"

"That finless jerk probably thought it was just some sparkly thing! But the queen needs it contain her power!" The other said. "Without that smooth gem, our queen will keep-!" The three attendants then watched the queen pull a fish out of her pool and bloat up even more. "She'll keep bloating up!"

"But our poor queen..." the purple cape wearing Zora trailed off.

"We've got to get that smooth gem back, or else!" the other Zora said.

"I can help!" Link finally spoke. The three Zoras turned to face him. "Who are you?" One of them asked. "My name's Link." Link replied. "I heard all about what happened and I think I can help."

"You'd do that?" A Zora asked.

"Of course!" Link replied.

"Well, all you have to do is get that smooth gem back and throw it into the queen's pool." The Zora instructed. "Do hurry! The queen won't last long at this rate!" Link left the domain and rang Irene's bell. "Getting the hang of that bell, eh greenie?" Irene asked. "Okay, where to?"

"To Kakariko Village! On the double!" Link replied. He held on as Irene dropped him off near the weather vane at the center of the village. That's where he saw the thief from before. He knew that he'd be too fast to capture normally, so Link got another idea. Taking care to remain undetected, Link melded with the wall and silently moved behind him. He then popped out of the wall, startling the young man. "Who's there?!" he shouted. "Y-y-you! Where'd you come from?"

"I know you stole the smooth gem." Link replied. "The Zora queen needs that to contain her power! You have to give it back!"

"S-sorry..." the man said. "I had no idea that stone was that precious. I knew that gemstone would fetch a high price. I-I'm sorry. I already sold it. To that guy over there." He pointed to the street merchant on the mat with an empty bottle and the smooth gem. "I already spent all the money I got from selling that darn stone. I couldn't help taking it. My boots help me run so fast that I've been stealing everything that isn't nailed down!"

"Look, I believe you." Link said. "I don't think you're a bad guy. But you need to stop stealing everything. You're better than that."

The man lowered his head in shame. "You're right." he said as he took off his boots, which were decorated with small wings. "Here, you take these boots. I can tell you won't abuse their power. I hope they fit." Link put the boots on. "Thanks." he said. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Leo." he said.

"It's nice to meet you, Leo." Link replied. "Now remember what I said, okay?"

"Okay, thanks kid." Leo replied. With that done, Link went to the street merchant. "Good news!" The man said. "I have some new stock that may interest you. Please come take a look. Have you seen this rare stone? Smoother than silk! Go on! Feel it! Just touching such a treasure will make your skin happy all over!"

"How much for it?" Link asked.

"For you? Only 200 Rupees!" The merchant replied. "Interested, my friend?"

"Deal!" Link replied. Luckily he had saved up some money over the months. He gave the merchant the money and took the gem. He then rang the bell to summon Irene again. "Where to next, greenie?" she asked. "Back to the Zora Domain." Link said. "I hope you appreceiate what I'm doing for you. I got a life, you know." Irene said as she flew Link over to Zora's Domain. "Okay, I'm back!" Link shouted to the three Zoras as he ran into the domain. The queen was still bloating. "Wow, that was fast!" One of the Zora's said. "Quick, throw that gem into the pool!"

Link threw it into the pool and the purple water began to glow with a golden light. The queen disappeared in a flash of light before appearing once again. This time, she was much more slender and shapely. She had a blue gem on her forehead and she was clad in a yellow dress. "Th-the queen!" the Zora said. "The bloating has stopped!"

"Are you the one who helped me?" The queen asked, turning to face Link.

"Yes ma'am." Link replied as he gave a low bow. "My name is Link. It's an honor to meet you."

"Thanks to you, I'm free of my pool." The queen replied. "That was all rather undignified. But listen to me, I've forgotten my manners. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Oren, Queen of the Zoras. It's a pleasure to meet you. I don't know how I came to rely on that troublesome smooth gem. But I do need it, so I thank you deeply."

"It was my pleasure to help." Link replied.

"I am filled with gratitude. Please take these, won't you?" She then handed Link a pair of flippers. "They will allow you to swim and dive, so you may travel the rivers and roam the lakes. But my Zoras do consider that their territory, and while I tell them to get along with people... I have to admit, they just don't listen. So be careful out there."

"Thank you, milady." Link said as he left. He decided to test out his new flippers. He put on his flippers and began to swim down the river. He swam down by the Witch's potion shop where he got back onto shore. He then made his way down to the lake where the House of Gales. But then he saw a purple sign decorated to resemble a bunny. The sign read. "_Ravio's Shop - Grand Opening. Essential gear for hero types! Rented at rock bottom prices! Located just south of Hyrule Castle. Come on by-can't wait to see you!_"

"Ravio's shop?" Link asked. "Better go see what he's up to." He summoned Irene again, who dropped him off at his house. His house now had a big sign on it that resembled Ravio's bunny hood. But what he saw inside was what really shocked him. His house had been renovated to become a shop. Among the items for sale were a hammer, a boomerang, a blue rod, a red rod, a small wooden rod, a hookshot, and some bombs. "What. The. Heck?!" Link asked.

"Welcome back!" Ravio greeted.

"Ravio, what the heck did you do to my house?!" Link angrily asked.

"I still haven't found anywhere else to stay. So I spruced things up in here." Ravio replied. "I've made it into a nice little shop for myself. Pretty great, isn't it?"

"Now just a minute!" Link replied angrily. "I said you could stay here. In _no way_ did I say you could just mosey on in and take over my house!"

"Oh, come on!" Ravio protested. "The item I lent you came in handy, right? And there's plenty more where that came from! Ravio is _all_ about helping heroes. And the way things are going, I think you're going to need my help. You know what they say-you wash my ears, I'll wash yours? How about you rent me your house... and I'll rent you lots of items?" Link gave a defeated sigh as he facepalmed. "First of all it's 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours', and second... you did help me out of a few jams so... I guess you can stay. But no more surprises! Leave me with _some_ of my house."

"Then it's a deal!" Ravio exclaimed. "I mean, it's not like you ever come here, right? All righty, then. Here's how my shop works. I rent you a wide range of items and weapons to you. And the rental period? That's the best part. You keep rentals for a _long_ time. Specifically, until the next time you fall in battle. Which might never happen, right? Sure, you look tough. But if you do fall in battle, my pal Sheerow here will swoop in to collect my property." He turned to Sheerow, who happily chirped while looping in the air.

"Right, just like that." Ravio said. "Swoop right in. Collect my stuff. While you... er... just lie there. So see anything you want? I've got plenty of gear besides the bow. Well, tell you what. Since you were kind enough to let me set up shop here, I'll let you take the items for free. But like I said, you fall out there, Sheerow takes my items back, got it?"

"Thanks, Ravio." Link said as he picked up the boomerang, hammer, bomb bag, and the small wooden rod. "What's this thing?" Link asked. "That's my Tornado Rod." Ravio said. "It can conjure small tornadoes to let you fly in the air or blow bad guys away. Take good care of my stuff now."

"I will. Thanks again." Link said as he left.

"See you next time!" Ravio replied.

"Now let's get to the House of Gales!" Link said as he made his way to the lake.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, at Zora's Domain..._**

"You fiend! Return our queen or face the wrath of the-AHH!" That was the only words the Zora could speak before being turned into a painting by Yuga's magic. "Oh, do be quiet." Yuga said as he stopped to admire his newest portrait, the Zora Queen Oren. Though she paled in comparison to Her Grace, or that _beautiful_ Princess Zelda, Yuga had to admit that the Zora queen was lovely in her own way. At the least, she was far more attractive than these ugly sardines.

"That's four sages down!" Yuga said. "Only three remain... until my greatest masterpiece can begin. The one who will help me attain _true_ beauty. Oh, I can hardly wait." He licked his lips as he laughed maniacally.

* * *

**And another chapter down! Link explores the House of Gales next chapter. Stay tuned. **


	7. Chapter 7: The House of Gales

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Having recovered from his fight with Yuga at the Eastern Palace, Link came home to find that Gulley had kidnapped by Yuga as he was a descendant of the Seven Sages. Now with a more personal motivation to stop the sorcerer's plans, Link came to the aid of the Zora queen who in return gave him the ability to swim. He now seeks the next pendant located in the House of Gales.**

Link had made it to the lake where the House of Gales was. The House of Gales was a large stone building with twin windmills. on a small island. He put on his new flippers and swam to the island where the house was. Immediately after getting in the water, he was attacked by hostile Zora. The Zora spat fireballs at him, but Link ducked under the water to avoid getting burned. Eventually, he reached the island where the house was. When he got to the gate, he saw that it was locked tight. He then noticed two stone pedestals with inscriptions that looked just his Tornado Rod. In between the pedestals were small coverings. He used his Tornado Rod to remove the coverings, revealing a small switch. He pressed it and the gate opened.

Link headed inside the House and saw six pots in front of him. He used his Tornado Rod to remove the pots, uncovering another switch. Pressing the switch, he activated the twin fans in the back of the room. He used his Tornado Rod to propel himself up and let the air current carry him onto the top portion of the room. He then went into the next room, which was much larger. The most notable feature in the room was the large fan. Link went to the left and went down some stairs before going through the door on his right and into the lower part of the room. He hit the nearby switch to cause the wall to lower a bit.

With the wall lowered, Link used his new bracelet and melded into the wall to reach the other side of the gap. He went into the next room, only for the door to shut behind him. At that moment, the three skulls in the room came to life and lit themselves aflame. Link knew there was no way he could fight them without getting burned, but that's when he got an idea. He pointed his Tornado Rod at the three skulls and sent a large gust of wind at them, extinguishing their flames. He then threw a bomb at them to finish them off. With them gone, a treasure chest appeared containing a small key. He took the key and left the room.

Back in the main room. He made his way to the left of the room where the locked door was. He opened the door and went into another room filled with gaps and moving platforms. Using his wall merge ability, Link carefully navigated the room until he made it to the other door. There he saw a switch. He pressed it to activate the fan on the wall in case he ever had to come back to this room again. Back in the main room on a grating. Link tossed a boomerang at the switch to activate the large fan in the center of the room. He then pressed another switch to activate the fan on the wall. Link next used his Tornado Rod to ride the air current to the other grate. Link hopped into the large fan and was carried into the second floor.

Link made his way across the metal grating, using his Tornado Rod to avoid the spiked roller. He saw another switch on the ground and pressed it, causing a small key to appear. As there was no way to get it from his current position, Link left it alone for now and headed into the next room. He made his way through the other door and found himself back in the main room with the key right next to him. He tossed a boomerang at it and it captured the key, returning it to him. He went through the other room and back in the main room, using the key to open the locked door

Link found himself outside the house. He jumped down to his left and saw two levers. He pulled the lever on the left and flames appeared. He doused the flames with his Tornado Rod and pulled the lever on the other side, causing a large treasure chest to appear. He opened the Treasure chest and in it was the Big Key. He was then surrounded by flames as two Armos Statues came to life. Link used his Tornado Rod to extinguish the flames and stun the statues before finishing them both off with a bomb. He went through the door and back through the main room. He went back outside and jumped down to his right. He pulled the switch on the farthest of the ledge to cause the platform to begin moving.

Timing it right, Link used his Tornado Rod to jump onto platform to the other grating with a locked door. He then used his wall merge to travel along the wall to another grating on wall with a switch on it. He pressed the switch to cause a small key to appear, surrounded by a ring of flames. He extinguished the flames with his Tornado Rod and grabbed the key before using it to unlock the door. He then found himself locked in with two Heedles, lizards that could light themselves on fire, leaving a trail of flames wherever they walked. Link used his Tornado Rod to extinguish their flames and threw bombs at them to finish them off. With those two dispatched of, the door opened.

Link went through the door and through the lower portion of the main room to another room. This room had various switches and fans. Link saw that he had to carefully choose which switch to press to proceed through the room. He first pressed the switch furthest from him, letting the air current carry him to the other ledge. He then pressed the switch on his left to let the air current carry him to where there were two switches. He pressed the switch on his left and let the air current carry him to the door.

Back in the main room, Link went up some stairs and reached another floor switch. He pressed it to deactivate the fans next to him. He dropped down to the ledge and wall merged to travel to the other side of the room. He then went up more stairs and made his way to the room on the right. As he went up the stairs, he threw a boomerang at a switch to activate the fan in the room and then dropped to the lower ledge where he was faced by an Eyegore. Link defeated the Eyegore with a well-aimed arrow to the eye before finishing it off with a bomb. He then stepped on the floor switch next to him to cause the platform to begin moving.

He rode the platform to a grating near the fan and then jumped into the fan to let him be carried into the third floor. Here, there were two gaps in the floor, and two fans blowing wind to impede his progress. Link melded into the wall to avoid the wind and left out of the room, where he was confronted by another Eyegore. He defeated the Eyegore and ignited the twin torches in the room to unlock the door to his left. He went through the door to find himself locked in a room with more flaming skulls. This room was much narrower due to the gap in the floor, but Link managed to defeat them all. With them gone, another treasure chest appeared. But as he couldn't get to it at the time, he left through the other door.

He then made his way through the room with the Big Door back into the room he started in. Only this time, he was near a treasure chest. He opened it to find another small key. He then melded into the wall to avoid the air currents and went back to the room where he defeated the Eyegore to unlock the door. He went through the door to find himself back in the room with the Big Door. Only this time he was in a position where he could reach the moving platforms. The platforms moved together as one, so Link waited until they came to a stop before jumping onto another.

Having reached the big door, he used the Big Key to unlock it and headed inside. He jumped down off a grate and saw that there was nothing in it. The floor was large and surrounded on all sides by a bottomless pit. "It's too quiet." he said to himself. At that moment, a monster appeared! It was a strange, seemingly mechanical beast shaped like a ring with a large, single eyeball. It spun around while releasing pockets of steam. "_Beware, Link! That's the dreaded Margomill!_" Sahasrahla's voice came.

"Sahasrahla?!" Link exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"_I'm contacting you through telepathy_." Sahasrahla replied. "_I'm hear to warn you. That's the guardian of the House of Gales. You'll have to defeat him to obtain the pendant_." Before Link could do anything, Margomill charged at the boy. Link dove out of the way, but the pocket of steam it blew nearly sent him to the edge of the platform. Margomill made another charge for the boy, but Link reflexively used his Tornado Rod to leap into the air. The tornado also stunned the mechanical beast, exposing its eye. Seeing his chance, Link landed on Margomill and slashed away at the monster's eye.

Margomill spun to shake Link off then summoned two layers under it to make itself taller. It then aimlessly spun around the room, attempting to knock Link into the chasm below. Trying to avoid being knocked away, Link slashed at the monster, attempting to segment its layers to bring its eye closer to attack it. Eventually, Link managed to get rid of both layers and expose its eye. He then stunned it with the Tornado Rod again and jumped on it to attack its eye once more. Margomill recovered and this time summoned four layers under it. It also began to spin around the room much faster.

Link tried his best to avoid getting thrown into the chasm but found it difficult to avoid the monster's rampage. Slowly but surely, he began to whittle the monster down, knocking away each layer until the eye was low enough to reach. Eventually the eye was exposed again. Link stunned it with the Tornado Rod and leaped on to Margomill to deliver a final stab to the eye. Margomill's body began to glow with bright light until it exploded in a puff of smoke. At that moment, a blue light began to appear on the ground and with it appeared a blue pendant bearing the symbol of Naryu, Goddess of Wisdom.

Link grabbed the pendant and put it on his neck with the Pendant of Courage. "_Spectacular work, Link!_" Sahasrahla telepathically said. "_To defeat the guardian of the House of Gales and claim the Pendant of Wisdom, it seems the Princess was right about you. Maybe you have what it takes to save the kingdom after all._"

"Thanks Sahasrahla." Link replied. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"_There's no time to celebrate just yet, Link_." Sahasrahla said. "_Only one pendant remains until the Master Sword can be yours. The Pendant of Power resides in the Tower of Hera on Death Mountain. To reach Death Mountain, you will require help. Do you know of the miner Rosso?_"

"Of course I do!" Link replied. "Ienzo hires him to find good ore for his forge."

"_He is also one of the Seven Sages_." Sahasrahla said. "_Seek him out before traveling to Death Mountain. Now hurry, child! The fate of Hyrule is in your hands!_"

"Don't worry! I won't let you down!" Link replied. He then found himself surrounded by a blue light and was soon teleported out of the House of Gales by Sahasrahla's magic.

* * *

**Okay, that's another chapter down! Link meets mother Maiamai and Rosso next chapter. Stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8: Link the Errand Boy

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time in _A Link Between Worlds_. After finding the means to reach the House of Gales, Link explored the windy domain to obtain the Pendant of Wisdom. In order to do so, he had to battle the House's guardian Margomill. After defeating the mechanical beast, Link had claimed his next pendant. Now he seeks the help of the miner Rosso to climb Death Mountain and find the Pendant of Power in the Tower of Hera.**

Outside the House of Gales, Link swam back to shore. But before he made his way to Rosso's house, he noticed an entrance to a nearby cave. It was decorated with white rocks around it and two black rocks above it, shaped to look like a mouth with eyes. The cave entrance was blocked off by rocks. Near it was a sign that said "_Do not enter! Do not blow up wall! A strange creature resides in there!_" Now Link knew full well that he should leave well enough alone, but his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. If there was a strange creature in there, maybe he could help somehow.

He planted a bomb near the cave entrance and backed away as the bomb exploded. He then took out his sword and cautiously headed inside, unsure of what he may face in the cave. What he saw, however, almost made him laugh. For the creature that resided in the cave was indeed strange. It was a large pink Octorok-like creature with eight tentacles. Its eyes were small and beady and its mouth was large enough to swallow Link whole. The creature was on a small bridge surrounded by water. In the water were around fifty small snail-like creatures.

"My, oh, my! What business have you with Mother Maiamai?" The creature said.

"It talks! And it rhymes!" Link exclaimed.

"You can talk and so can I." she replied. "Now I'll reply, What business have you with Mother Maiamai?"

"I'm sorry ma'am." Link said. "I shouldn't have barged in like that. I'll just take my leave." And Link turned around to leave until Mother Maiamai said "Wait! Forgive me if my spirits aren't flying so high. But I'm having a huge crisis. Oh my, oh my!"

"What is it?" Link asked. "I'd like to help if I can."

"Welll..." Mother Maiamai began. "We were on a great voyage through all the worlds, my takes and I... Then I lost sight of my little Maiamais! All 100 of my babies, by and by! I managed to find half of my little Maiamais, but I can't find the rest! Oh why, _oh why?!_" She then took a long, insightful look at Link. "Could you find all of them? You'll hear my children crying-calling for their Mother Maiamai!"

"Of course." Link replied.

"Really? Thanks!" Mother Maiamai replied. "Mother Maiamai finds you quite a kind child. Here-take this." She then handed Link a map of Hyrule with several symbols that resembled the baby Maiamais around her. The map was divided into nine areas with various numbers on them. "It will help you know if my tykes are nearby. Oh, yes-upon the Maiamai Map you can surely rely!" Mother Maiamai said. "Those numbers tell you how many of my little Maiamais are in each area. At least until you rescue some, and then it will tell you only how many more you have yet to find! Now please, go and search for all my Maiamais. They call out with such cute chirping sounds. Yet they must be so sad, missing their Mother Maiamai."

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll find your babies." Link said as he left the cave. He wanted to start right away, but currently he was busy with other things. He made a note to himself to find Maiamais in between his quests. But for now, he had to find Rosso. He figured that Rosso was at his house near Kakariko Village so he rang his bell to summon Irene. "Yeah, yeah. I hear you. Clang clang clang." Irene complained. "Where to this time?"

"To Kakariko Village." Link replied. He grabbed on to Irene's broom and she flew him to Kakariko Village. From there he made his way through the woods and past the Fortune teller's house until he got to Rosso's house. Rosso's house was a quaint little cottage made of rock with a burgundy colored roof, stones around the door. It had one window. Strangely though, there was a hole in the roof and rocks that littered the yard. Link entered the house to find Rosso carrying one of the rocks. Rosso was a large, tan-skinned, portly man with red hair tied in a top knot and a matching red beard. He wore a vest and his pants were yellow with streaks of blue. He wore a red belt decorated with the inscription of a bear paw in the front.

"Urrgh! These rocks! Real pain in the neck!" Rosso groaned as he tossed the rock on the pile of other rocks. He then turned to see Link. "Huh? A customer?"

"No, it's me Link." Link replied.

"Link... Hey, you're that kid who works for the blacksmith, right?" Rosso asked. "Decided you've had enough of that place, huh? Here to be my apprentice maybe?"

"Um... that's not what I'm here for." Link said. Rosso let out a hearty laugh in response. "Just joking! I wouldn't do that to your master." he said. Link pouted a bit, but then looked at the hole in his roof. "So, what happened here?" Link asked. "I was on the mountain mining ore when, all of a sudden, the earth started shaking!" Rosso explained. "When I got home, the place was a wreck. Rocks everywhere."

"Yeah, I saw outside." Link said.

"I've been bustin' my back for days to clean up that mess." Rosso said. "At least picking up rocks and smashin' the things feels pretty good. Wish they were full of good ore though. What? You want to try too? Rah! Feels good smashing stuff!"

"But I can't pick up rocks." Link replied.

"Oh. Sorry to hear it." Rosso replied. "Can't stand to see a nice kid like you not be able to throw your weight around... Here-take this. It's a hand-me-down from yours truly." He then handed Link a pair of brown, fingerless gloves. "They're called Power Gloves." Rosso said. "You'll feel tough with that on your mitt-oughta be able to pick up rocks! Smaller ones anyway. And if you get to smashin' and just can't stop yourself, well, there's a whole bunch of them outside!"

Link stared at Rosso with a puzzled expression. The miner, meanwhile, let out another hearty laugh. "Just a joke, that's all. I wouldn't really tell ya to do all my work out there. Still, if you do...who am I to stop ya? Now these rocks aren't gonna clean themselves up. Back to it! And tell that ol' smithy master of yours I said hello."

"I will. Thanks!" Link replied as he left the one-room house. As he looked at the rocks in the yard, he figured that after Rosso was kind enough to give him his Power Gloves, the least he could do was clean up the yard for him. So Link began to pick up and toss the rocks out of the yard. While he did feel strong thanks to the Power Gloves, it was still a tiring chore. Eventually, Link managed to remove all the rocks from his yard. Upon hearing the sounds of Link's labor, Rosso walked outside to investigate. "Wh-where have all those darned rocks got to?" he asked before looking at Link, who had an innocent smile on his face.

"Oh-ho! You went ahead and did the job for me!" Rosso said. "I gotta thank you for all that. Come on in, OK?" Link followed Rosso back into his house, where a treasure chest awaited him. "Glad to share what's in that chest with you. You earned it, kid!" Link opened it to find that there was a Purple Rupee in it. "Gee, thanks!" Link said. "Anytime." Rosso replied. Link left the house feeling quite confident. He was sure he would be able to scale Death Mountain now! But before he could do so, he still had one other thing to attend to: Mother Maiamai's babies. He did promise her that he would find all of them, but with more urgent matters on his plate there was no way he could find them all.

He thought long and hard on how he could solve this. But then his face lit up with an idea. He rang his bell to summon Irene again. "Okay, greenie. Where to this time?" the young witch asked. "Actually, I have a different favor to ask you." Link said. "What?" Irene asked. Link handed Irene the map Mother Maiamai gave her. "I'm looking for these little sea snails called Maiamais." Link said. "There are about 50 of them in Hyrule. Could you find them for me?"

"Why can't you find them yourself?" Irene asked.

"Because I'm busy with other things and you can find them a lot faster than me. Please?" Link asked. Irene gave a resigned sigh. "Alright. I guess since I'm carrying you around Hyrule, I might as well do this too."

"Thanks." Link said. "Now they make these little chirping sounds, so they're quite easy to spot. When you've found them all, meet me at the Tower of Hera."

"Okay then, see you!" Irene flew off to begin her search. Link, meanwhile, felt really pleased with himself. He had managed to find a way to solve Mother Maiamai's problem and met with Rosso. Now all that remained was to climb Death Mountain and and retrieve the Pendant of Power. He headed south from Rosso's house and made a right turn, heading into the entrance to the Death Mountain trail.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, At Rosso's house...**_

Rosso was sitting down having a cup of jasmine tea. Thanks to Link, he could finally relax for the first time in days! In fact he was just about to fall asleep until he heard a voice. "So you are Rosso, correct?" the voice asked. Rosso turned to find himself staring at a strange looking man. The man had albino skin and red, braided hair. He was dressed in a black robe with an inverted Triforce symbol as well as a purple cape. His pants were baggy and blue with yellow stripes. He wore yellow pointed shoes. In his hand, he held a large, golden glowing staff that resembled a cross between a torch and a paintbrush

"Yes, that's me." Rosso replied. "Who are you and what business do you have with me?"

"My name is Yuga." the man replied. "And I've been looking for you. You are of the Seven Sages are you not?" That made Rosso stood up, his arms crossed against his chest as his eyes narrowed dangerously. Only him and a select few knew he was a sage, so how did _he_ know that? "So what if I am?" Rosso asked, slightly defensive. "Well then, you've confrimed my suspicions." Yuga replied. "Though I must say, I find it a bit... unseemly that a person of your caliber would choose to live in this dreary place. How would you like to help me with a little... _project_ I'm doing? I promise you'll be a changed man when it's over."

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that." Rosso replied flatly. "Now if you don't mind, I'm a bit busy. Care to find the door?"

"Well, I'm afraid I am unable to take no for an answer." Yuga said. "Now I'll have to insist you come with me."

"Listen pal," Rosso began as he grabbed his pickaxe. "I'm giving you five seconds to leave or I'll _make_ you leave."

"Oh, how positively boorish." Yuga said. "Must this all end in violence? You do realize you've no chance of beating me, right?"

"We'll see about that!" Rosso said as he charged at Yuga, pickaxe raised to strike. Yuga remained unfazed and waved his staff, sending a blast of magic that turned Rosso into portrait. "I tried to tell you. It's impossible." Yuga chided as he picked up the now portified Rosso. "And so, another sage is added to the collection. Just three more paintings... and the real fun begins."

* * *

**That's another chapter down. Link scales Death Mountain and the Tower of Hera next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9: Death Mountain and the Tower

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _A Link Between Worlds._ Before Link could scale Death Mountain, he had to do an errand for the miner Rosso, picking up rocks around his yard. In gratitude, Rosso handed Link the Power Gloves. After assigning Irene with the task of locating Mother Maiamai's babies, Link leaves for Death Mountain and the Tower of Hera.**

"And that's the last Maiamai!" Irene said as she placed the final Maiamai in a bag and tied the bag to her broom. After spending hours flying around Hyrule searching for Maiamais, She finally managed to locate them all. She was now at her Grandma's house preparing to deliver them all to Link at the Tower of Hera. "I find it awfully sweet that you're willing to do this for that young man." Irene's grandmother said. "I think you may have a crush on him."

"Give me a break, gram." Irene replied. "I'm just doing this cuz my fortune says so."

"Come now, child." Grandmother chided. "You really need some more friends."

"Tch, whatever." Irene replied. "Well, off to deliver these to Link."

"Not so fast, madam." A voice called out. Both Irene and her Grandmother turned to find themselves facing a very strange man. The man had albino skin and red, braided hair. He was dressed in a black robe with an inverted Triforce symbol as well as a purple cape. His pants were baggy and blue with yellow stripes. He wore yellow pointed shoes. In his hand, he held a large, golden glowing staff that resembled a cross between a torch and a paintbrush. "Who are you?" Grandmother asked. "My name is Yuga." the man replied. "And I have business with your granddaughter... Irene? Is it?"

"What sort of business?" Grandmother asked.

"Your granddaughter. She is a sage, is she not?" Yuga asked.. That made Grandmother take a more defensive stance. "I'll take that as I'm right." Yuga replied. "What's a sage?" Irene asked, confused by the whole deal. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"Run child!" Grandmother shouted. "Fly to Link!"

"But Gram-!"

"Don't argue! Just do as I sa-AHHH!" Grandmother's desperate plea was cut short by a bolt of lightning fired from Yuga's staff. "Stay out of this, old hag. This is between me and the girl."

"Gran!" Irene shouted as she rushed to her aid. She then glared at Yuga, twin fireballs in her hands. "Nobody hurts my gram!" She yelled as she tossed the fireballs at Yuga. Yuga, in response, summoned two floating portraits that fired jets of water, extinguishing the flames. Irene tried to run to her broom, but was too late to avoid the blast of magic from Yuga's staff, turning her into a painting. The broom quickly flew away with the Maiamais to the Tower of Hera. Yuga ignored the fleeing broom and picked up the portrait of Irene. "Sorry, my dear. But you have a lot to learn about magic before your able to cross blades with me." he said. "Well, that's painting number six. Only two remain. Time to capture my captive prizes."

He then made his way towards Hyrule Castle...

* * *

_**Meanwhile, at Death Mountain path...**_

Link made his way through the tunnel, killing small worm creatures called Moldorms. After navigating the twists and turns of the tunnel. He found his way outside at Death Mountain. As he stepped outside, however, the ground began to violently shake. Link looked up to see that the volcano had begun erupting, sending rocks of molten magma raining down upon the earth. Link did his best to navigate the mountain, avoiding the falling rocks of magma. Though Link did take care to pick up any Rupees the rocks dropped.

Link eventually took cover in a tunnel. But this tunnel had large boulders that would roll down the stairs. Link carefully navigated the tunnel, using his wall merge to avoid incoming boulders and traverse gaps in the floor. He eventually made his way back outside and went through another cavern with similar obstacles. Link carefully made his way up, wall merging to avoid the occasional boulders. He made a right and went across the bridge to find himself back outside. He then went through the next door and back through the same cavern to go up even higher. He made a left and went out the cavern and wall merged to make it across the gap, where he saw the Tower of Hera.

"Only one pendant left..." Link trailed off with a sigh as he took in the sight of the tower. It was made of red and white bricks and was quite vast, almost reaching the sky. "Here goes everything." Link went inside the Tower. The room he found himself in had several pink springs with clownish faces on them. Link pulled out his hammer and smashed two of the springs, lowering them enough for Link to pass. But he now found himself trapped between two blue walls. He struck the nearby switch with his sword, causing the walls to sink into the floor and let him pass. But he could go no further as he was trapped by another red wall. He again hit the nearby switch to make the wall recede into the ground. That's when he saw more springs on the ground surrounding a ledge. That gave Link an idea. He used his hammer on the spring and stood on it. When the spring recoiled, it launched him into the upper part of the room.

He then used his wall merge to traverse the gaps and avoid the moving spiked traps until he made it to the other side of the room. He used the smaller springs to jump on to the ledge and saw a bigger spring. He smashed it with his hammer and used it to launch himself onto the second floor, which was a metal grating with gaps in it. He used the big spring nearby to launch himself onto the third floor, where he found himself trapped between two blue walls. Wall merging with the wall on his left, he struck a switch to lower the wall. He saw a locked door and began to search for a key. When blocked by a red wall, he hit a switch to lower it. He saw something shining on the upper ledge and got another idea. He stood on a lowered wall and threw his boomerang at a nearby switch, raising the wall to find a small key.

With the small key, he unlocked the door and found himself outside. But when he looked down, he immediately stumbled back. He was really high up! Almost to where he couldn't even _see_ the ground! But Link's fears were soon calmed as he saw a moving platform pass by. He jumped on it and rode around the tower, using his wall merge to avoid falling off the platform when he came across an obstacle. Eventually he came to a ledge and used his wall merge to get to the fourth floor. There, he was attacked by two Stalfoses. He defeated them and struck the switch on the left side of the room to lower the wall.

He then used his hammer on the spring to launch himself onto the fifth floor. He hit the switch to lower the red wall in front of him, but that also raised the blue wall. Link then decided to stand on the lowered red wall and hit the switch to raise it. He jumped off the wall and hit the switch to raise the blue wall so he could reach the window. He then wall merged to go through the window where he found himself outside once more. He jumped onto another moving platform and rode around the tower, avoiding the moving spiked death traps and wall merging to maneuver around walls and other obstacles.

He eventually came across a moving block and wall merged with it to go to the sixth floor. When he entered, the door locked behind him as he was attacked by five Stalfoses. The skeletons threw their bones at him, but Link blocked with his Hylian Shield. He then attacked them with his Hammer, killing each one instantly. With them defeated, the door unlocked itself and a part of the floor began to rise and fall. He stood on that moving part of the floor and was elevated to the seventh floor. He hit the switch to lower the blue wall and saw that the floor had cracks in it. He planted a bomb on the cracked part of the floor and it exploded. Looking down, he saw a small key on a higher part of the sixth floor. He jumped down to grab the key and used a spring to get back onto the seventh floor.

He unlocked the door and found himself outside. Link got on a platform with a large spring on it and used his hammer to launch himself onto the ninth floor. He then got on another moving platform and used its spring to launch himself inside the tower. At that moment, the door locked behind him. Link walked to the center of the room when all of a sudden, the floor tiles came to life and attacked him. Link blocked each flying tile with his shield until the onslaught was over. With the tiles gone, a platform was revealed. Link rode the platform up to the tenth floor. On the cross-shaped floor grating, he saw four switches. Carefully avoiding the four bumpers, he hit each switch. That caused a platform with a spring to lower.

He used the spring to launch himself onto the eleventh floor. There, he saw two platforms connected together with large springs on them that moved between two ledges; One ledge with a Big Door and another ledge with a large treasure chest. Link went to the spring on his left and used it to get to the treasure chest. He opened the chest to find the Big Key inside. He jumped onto the platforms and used the spring to get to the Big Door and unlock it. Going through the door, he found himself on the 12th floor. He used some small springs to get on the ledge, then used the big spring to get on the top of the tower. He used another spring to get on a metal grating floating above the tower. What awaited him, however, was a large Moldorm, possibly the mother. It resembled its younger counterparts, with the obvious difference being the green leaves surrounding it.

The Moldorm randomly charged around the platform. Link made several slashes at the beast with his blade, but his sword merely bounced off the insect's tough skin. The Moldorm struck Link with its tail, knocking him off the platform. Link used the spring to get back up. He was ready to attack the Moldorm again but stopped when he noticed the glowing red orb on the insect's tail. Seeing it as a weak point, Link slashed the orb, causing the Moldorm to recoil in pain. The Moldorm continued to charge around the platform, actively guarding its tail. Link carefully avoided the insect's rampage and slashed at its tail whenever possible. Each slash, however, only served to anger the Moldorm, its body turning red as it charged faster and faster.

Eventually, Link managed to deal the mortal strike to the insect, causing it to explode in a flash of light. Link stopped to take a much needed breather. At that moment, the final pendant appeared-the Pendant of Power! Link ran to collect his hard-earned prize. At long last, he had all three Pendants of Virtue! He could finally claim the Master Sword! After claiming the final pendant, Link felt himself being teleported to the entrance of the Tower. What greeted him was the sight of Irene's broom with a bag filled with fifty Maiamais. However, Irene was not with her broom.

"This is Irene's broom, so where's Irene?" Link asked.

"_Hear me, Link_..." came Sahasrahla's telepathic voice.

"Sahasrahla!" Link replied. "What is it?"

"_You have done well, my young hero!_" Sahasrahla said. "_You acquired the Pendant of Wisdom and the Pendant of Power! Now that you have all three Pendants of Virtue, you have proven yourself worthy of the Master Sword. But I also bring terrible news. Through my research, I managed to locate the other sages: Rosso the Miner, Queen Oren of the Zoras, and a young witch named Irene. I tried to warn each of them, but I'm afraid that they have all been captured by Yuga._"

Link heard the elder call out the names with horror and regret in his heart. He had met each of them, but failed to warn them of the incoming danger. "Oh, no..." Link said. "That means there's only one sage left: Lady Impa. And she's trapped with Princess Zelda! They're both in danger!"

"_Do not despair, my friend!_" Sahasrahla replied. "_Hope still remains! If you can obtain the Master Sword, you may yet be able to save them!_"

"Tell me where it is!" Link pleaded.

"_You will find the blade deep within the Lost Woods!_" Sahasrahla replied. "_Go now. Claim what is rightfully yours!_"

"I will." Link said. "But first..." He looked to the bag of Maiamais in his hand. "I'd better return these guys to their mom. Hey, broom! Take me to the House of Gales!" The broom laid flat for Link to hop on. It then took off toward the House of Gales.

* * *

**And that's the ninth chapter! Sorry this took so long! I was fighting a cold over the week. Anywho, Link claims the Master Sword and storms Hyrule Castle next chapter. Stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Blade of Evil's Bane!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. After an arduous climb up the Tower of Hera, Link had at last managed to claim the final pendant needed to obtain the Master Sword. However, his joy had been cut short when Sahasrahla informed him that Yuga had captured six of the Seven Sages, with only Lady Impa and Princess Zelda remaining. Link now hurries to the Lost Woods to claim the Blade of Evil's Bane in hopes of stopping Yuga once and for all.**

"I knew you'd be able to help me. Thank you-oh, thank you! You found all of my babies!" Mother Maiamai said as Link returned to her cave with the Maiamiais in tow. "You're welcome ma'am, but I had some help in finding them." Link replied. "It doesn't matter!" Mother Maiamai replied. "You still helped save my babies! Mother Maiamai can't thank you enough. You found all my Maiamais! You're nice, child, very nice. And speaking of nice... I can make your items nicer! However, I can only do this with items you own, nothing rented."

"Oh. Well, I'll just have to convince Ravio to let me buy the items." Link said. "I have to go now. But I might come back later."

"I'll be here, dear! You're a true hero!" Mother Maiamai said as Link walked out the cave. Despite her claim, Link didn't exactly _feel_ heroic. After all, a real hero saves people. Ever since he started this adventure, he's messed up one thing after another. He couldn't save the sages, he couldn't save Gulley, he was too busy to help Mother Maiamai and had to have someone else do the rescuing. It almost made him wonder. Would he truly be worthy of the Master Sword? Even if he had the three Pendants of Virtue, he still felt inferior.

Shaking off these thoughts. Link rang the bell to summon Irene's broom to take him to Kakariko Village. From their, he made his way up north to the Lost Woods. It was said that those who entered the woods were never to be seen from again. Link hoped he would be more fortunate. Link made his way through the dense, misty forest, passing through several logs until he came across a sign that read. "Lost Woods ahead! Stay out!" Link took a deep breath and headed further. When he did, he encountered a group of eight identical ghosts.

"Hree hee hee!" One of them cackled. "Welcome to the Lost Woods!"

"Who are you?" Link asked.

"We are the guardians of the Lost Woods." The lead ghost replied. "We protect the Lost Woods from intruders. Who are _you?_"

"I'm Link." Link replied. "I'm looking for the Master Sword. It's really important!"

"And why would we let someone like you find the Blade of Evil's Bane?" the ghost asked. "How do we not know you are out to defile the sacred woods?" Link, in frustration, pulled out the three Pendants of Virtue. "I found the Pendants of Virtue! That has to count for _something_, right?!" The ghosts carefully observed Link for a few moments then turned to converse among themselves. Link put the pendants back in his shirt and watched as the ghosts continued their conversation. After a good thirty minutes, they turned to face Link again. "Okay, we've made our decision." The leader said. "We will let you obtain the Master Sword... if you can solve our riddle."

"What do I have to do?" Link asked.

"These woods will trick you into going back the way you came!" the leader began. "But all hope is not lost! If you can follow me, then you can walk a little deeper into the woods. If you can follow our instructions and make your way into the forest, the Blade of Evil's Bane is all yours! Watch carefully!" Link watched as the ghosts began to shuffle around, his gaze never leaving the ghost leader as he tried to hide among his brethren. He watched as the leader and another ghost flew through the log on the right. Link followed behind and he was led to another part of the forest where the group of eight ghosts awaited him.

"Oh, well done." the ghost leader said as two of the ghosts next to him began waving their lanterns. "That was fun, but now we're going to mislead you. Now two of us will bounce around. So _don't follow_ the two of us, or you'll wind up back at the start! Hree hee hee! Think you can get it right?" Link watched carefully as the ghosts began to move in random patterns once more. Never taking his eyes off the two ghosts, he watched as one left through the log on his left and another went through the one on the right.

Following the instructions, Link went through the log straight ahead of him. and went even deeper into the forest where the eight ghosts awaited him again. "Oh, very well done!" the ghost leader said. "Hmph, I guess it's time to _really_ stump you!" The leader and the two ghosts next to him began waving their lanterns. "Now three of us will bounce around. Don't follow us! Hree hee hee! Think you can get it right?" Link watched the three ghosts as the eight of them randomly moved about, the ghosts then dispersed into the three logs in front of him.

Following their instructions, Link went through the path he came in and found himself... in another part of the forest. "Congratulations, young man." the ghost leader's voice rang through the forest. "You've solved our riddle. The Master Sword is up ahead." Link went through the forest until he saw a pedestal. In the pedestal was a sword with a blue hilt that had the Triforce symbol engraved upon it. "The Master Sword..." Link trailed off in awe. He had heard legends of the blade, but never once dreamed that he would actually see it in person.

At that point, the same fear he had earlier again clutched his heart. Would the blade deem him worthy enough to wield it? Link stood paralyzed with fear until he finally worked up the will to move. He had come this far, he could not turn back now! Link walked toward the blade and carefully pulled out the sword as the three Pendants of Virtue emerged. Link groaned with effort as the blade slowly pulled itself out of the pedestal. Link then raised the freed Master Sword high into the air, the blade glowing with blue light. It seemed that the blade had accepted Link as its wielder after all! The fog in the forest began to recede, allowing sunlight to penetrate the woods.

"_Hear me, Link_..." Sahasrahla's telepathic voice said. "_The sword you hold in your hand is the one and only Master Sword! Now that you possess that blade, you can break the barrier at the castle. So make haste! We don't have much time left. Get to Hyrule Castle!_"

"I'm on my way!" Link said. He sheathed the blade in his scabbard and made his way out of the woods. Once outside, he summoned Irene's broom to take him to Hyrule Castle. At the castle's entrance, he found Sahasrahla awaiting him. Sahasrahla watched as Link unsheathed the Master Sword. "Aha! No doubt-that is the very blade of evil's bane." Sahasrahla said. "You have found the Master Sword! Well done, Link. Now there's no time to waste. Strike down this nefarious barrier!"

Link walked up to the barrier and took a deep breath. He then struck the barrier with all his might, causing it to disappear instantly. "Why, that's incredible! How easily it cuts through such dark magic!" Sahasrahla exclaimed. "Come now, to action! You must find Princess Zelda at once!" Link nodded and ran through the castle courtyard. When he ran inside the gallery room of the castle, he saw some of the Hylian Soldiers turned to paintings, obviously Yuga's doing. Before he could do anything else, he was set upon by more of Yuga's strange soldiers. Link swung his blade and fired a crescent wave of energy, killing the soldiers instantly. The soldiers melted into paint upon their deaths. It seems the soldiers were merely paintings brought to life. Link felt relieved that he wasn't murdering actual people and didn't have to hold back.

Link ran up the stairs to Zelda's throne room only to find it vacant. Panic set in at that moment. He only prayed that he wasn't too late. He left the throne room and went through the door on the right. from there, he made his way to the roof of the castle, seeing more and more of Yuga's vile handiwork. Once on the castle's roof. He went through the door and through a room with four inanimate Armos statues. He was then locked in the next the next room with a soldier in gold armor wielding a mace. Link stunned the soldier with a boomerang before making a few swipes at him.

After a while, Link managed to defeat the soldier and made his way through the next room and up the stairs into the third floor. There, he ducked out of the way as a spear landed next to him. He took out his bow and fired an arrow at the pink-armored soldier, killing him instantly. He then defeated the other two soldiers in the room before climbing up the stairs and making a left. The next room was filled with more inanimate Armos statues. But when he reached the end of the room, the door suddenly locked on him and the Armos statues came to life. Link defeated them all and moved onward.

Link now found himself out on the castle's balcony. He went up the stairs to the next room and encountered the most frightening sight. It was Zelda, who was thankfully unharmed, but now cornered by Yuga. "Your rampage through my kingdom must end, Yuga!" the princess pleaded. "How many more of my people do you intend to take?!"

"My little acquisition tour of Hyrule is nearly over, Princess." the mad sorcerer cackled as he walked towards Zelda. "It was really quite a spree. A sage here, a Sage there. And now your Impa too. I've already obtained all seven Sages."

"Just what do you plan to do with them, fiend?!" Zelda asked.

"Never you mind. For I have one more painting to make." Yuga replied. "So please, be kind enough to rid your mind of all concern. A portrait of your caliber shouldn't feature any unsightly worry lines. Beauty such as yours should be preserved at its very best! I daresay you're a match even for Her Grace."

"Confess it, monster!" Zelda demanded. "You intend to use the Seven Sages to revive Ganon, don't you?!"

"Ah what golden hair you have..." Yuga rambled on, seemingly ignoring Zelda's accusation. "Such bright locks are normally far too sunny for my tastes, but for you, I'll make an exception."

"You're not even listening to me!" Zelda shouted.

"I find your protests inelegant. Not to mention irrelevant." Yuga replied. "I wish to possess your beauty, Princess Zelda of Hyrule, not all these ugly words of yours!" Magical energy began to gather around the tip of his staff. "Oh, you are going to make for a _spectacular_ painting, my dear!" He said as he fired a blast of magic from his staff. Zelda screamed in pain as the magic transformed her into a golden-framed painting. "Haha! My lovely masterpiece!" Yuga cackled as he collected his new prize. "How utterly scrumptious! Dare I say it's my best work ever!"

"Zelda, no!" Link screamed as he ran to face Yuga. "...What's that?" the sorcerer turned to find Link glaring at him with the Master Sword drawn and ready to strike. "YOU?! Didn't I splash you on some wall somewhere? How did you get out?!" Yuga asked, astonished.

"That doesn't matter!" Link replied. "I'm putting an end to you right here!"

"How impudent!" Yuga shouted. "Emerging. Foisting your inferior form upon my perfect eyes? I will not tolerate this! You should have remained nothing but a stain on that wall. But I will be glad to leave you _here_, once and for all!" He raised his staff in the air and sent four magical orbs into the wall, which then emerged as soldiers. Yuga then ran out of the room. Link fired another Sword Beam to dispatch the soldiers and chased after the villain to the fifth floor. He went through the room and found himself out on another balcony.

He went through the next door and through the same room to find himself on the sixth floor. He fought his way through more soldiers and made his way to the balcony. He wen through the door where he was on another part of the sixth floor. He went up the stairs to the seventh floor and went through the door in front of him to the final balcony of the castle. He went through the door into the eighth floor and found Yuga admiring the now portrified Zelda.

"What a beautiful masterpiece. My talent is almost _frightening_..." Yuga mused to himself.

"Let Princess Zelda go!" Link shouted as he ran up behind Yuga. "... And then there's you worm." Yuga said, not turning to even look at Link. "I can barely bring myself to even spare a _glance_ at such an inferior creature." He finally turned to face Link. "And yet, it seems there's more to you than meets the eye. How _did_ you escape that wall?" Link was about to answer, but Yuga cut him off. "Never mind. I don't have time to listen to your prattle." He said. "I have what I've come to Hyrule for, so I refuse to let you delay my departure any further. Farewell-for the _last_ time!"

At that moment, the door shut behind Link. Link paid it no heed and charged at Yuga, ready to strike him down with the Master Sword. "Still using the same brutish tricks..." Yuga said as he fired a blast of magic at Link, turning him into a painting once more. "Hmph, pathetic." Yuga said as he walked closer. At that moment, Link emerged off of the wall and swung his blade. Yuga barely had time to dodge as he leaped backwards. The sorcerer then glared at Link, completely stunned by the turn of events. "But? How? You couldn't have..?" He tried to say.

"Surprised? I can do it too! Thanks to you!" Link taunted, feeling superior. Yuga continued to glare at the youth, his anger boiling. "You... Insolent... _**DOG!**_" Yuga roared as he fired a bolt of lightning from his staff. Link used the Hylian Shield to defend against it and was pushed back. "You **_dare_** use my own material against _me?! **Plagiarism!**_" He shouted as he tossed a ball of fire at Link. Link struck the fireball with his blade, sending it back at Yuga. Yuga blocked with his cape and merged with the wall to avoid Link's attempt to attack him.

Yuga then emerged out of the wall with two copies of himself. Link didn't have much time to react as he was forced to dive behind the columns to avoid the lightning bolts fired across the room. He tried to attack Yuga again only for the sorcerer to disappear into the wall. Yuga quickly reappeared with his doppelgangers. He attacked the one next to him only for it to turn into one of Yuga's soldiers. He defeated the soldier and tried to attack the other one. That's when he noticed something strange. The other Yuga's staff wasn't glowing. he then noticed the other Yuga and fired an arrow at his forehead, stunning him. Link then dealt some more slashes at him before the wizard was forced to retreat.

Yuga then appeared out of the wall. "Why do you even _care_ what happens to the princess?" Yuga asked in frustration. "She's _far_ above a pathetic worm like you."

"This isn't just about Princess Zelda." Link replied. "It's about Gulley."

"Gulley? Who's that?" Yuga asked. People's names never really mattered to him.

"The little kid you captured!" Link shouted with anger. "He was my best friend!"

"Hmm. Oh, that naive little boy!" Yuga said. "Oh, I remember him now. He made quite a cute portrait. You should have seen the look on his face as his skin turned to paint. The scream he made when he knew he would be my latest work of art was exquisite!" The mad sorcerer broke out into joyous laughter at the thought. Link's anger, however, grew with the description of how he endangered Gulley, his mind flashing back to Madison's sadness at missing her little boy. Link screamed and charged at Yuga. Yuga was still too busy laughing to see Link charging at him. By the time he did, Link had made a clear slash at his face, going across his eye.

Yuga recoiled an screamed in pain as the blade slit across his eye, leaving a palpable scar. Before Yuga could react, Link pulled out his hammer and bashed Yuga across the face, sending him to the wall. Yuga struggled to get to his feet and pulled out a mirror to inspect his face. "You... _mongrel!_" He snarled as he lunged at Link, bashing him with his staff repeatedly as Link defended with his shield. "You dare leave a scar on this face?! I'll end you! I'll destroy every part of you! I'll kill you!" he roared. Link used a shield bash to knock Yuga back, then made a horizontal slice at his midsection.

Yuga gave another anguished scream and clutched his chest. His shirt now had a horizontal tear where the blade struck him and he was bleeding a bit. "Gah! I bore of this fight!" he said as he grabbed the portrait of Zelda, which had been hanging on the wall. "Once I have released Ganon, lowly creatures like you won't be worth my time." He then retreated through the door. "Come back here, you coward!" Link shouted as he chased after him, ending up on the castle walkway, high above Hyrule.

He took a left and made his way across until he found himself in Zelda's study. It was quite a beautiful room. There was a large rug decorated with the crest of the Royal Family, three windows, a couch, a desk with a chair behind it where Zelda would manage the paperwork. There were also small plates that hung on the wall. "Where'd he go?" Link asked himself. Yuga was nowhere to be seen. There was nowhere to hide in a room this small. But that's when something caught the corner of his eye. He looked to his right to find a wisp of smoke behind a blue curtain. He cut the curtain with the Master Sword and found a small crack in the wall. Yuga must have escaped here.

Link merged into the wall and found himself going through a rainbow colored vortex of sorts. For some strange reason, he felt as though he was travelling between dimensions as it were. Eventually, his journey came to an end and he found himself... back in Zelda's study? But that's impossible. He ended up back the way he came? And stranger still, everything looked different. The room was messy and disorganized. Also, the Royal Family crest on the rug. The Triforce symbol was inverted, much like Yuga's robe. He walked outside and found himself back in Hyrule Castle. Only, it was markedly different than he last saw it. For one thing, the sky's were stormy. Last time he checked, the weather was clear as day.

Also, the castle itself looked different. It looked darker and more foreboding. Link tried his best to ignore the weird changes and focus on the situation at hand. He made his way across the walkway and turned left to an empty room. There he found Yuga in the center of a magic circle surrounded by the portraits of Zelda and the Seven Sages. "You've arrived just in time, my boy!" Yuga greeted with a cackle, his face still having the scar from the fight. "A splendid collection, don't you think?" Yuga asked. "All Seven Sages and Princess Zelda herself. But even they pale in comparison to my next artful creation... ME! I will use the Seven Sages to reach the one who will help me obtain true beauty! I mean, of course... GANON!"

The portraits laid flat on the ground before they began to rise into the air, spinning above Yuga. "By the power of the Seven Sages! By the power of the Triforce of Wisdom. I command thee to appear before me! Arise Ganon! Arise Demon King! Heed my voice and live again!" The portraits began to form a swirling portal of dark energy. And out of that portal stepped a figure that was all too familiar to Link. After all, that face had haunted his dreams every night. It was Ganon, the demon king in all his glory. He looked every bit like the paintings depicted him as. He was a blue-skinned humanoid boar clad in red and yellow armor. His shoulder guards had large, curved spikes on them and he wore a red cape. He also wore a necklace decorated with a skull and on his wrists were spiked bracelets.

The beast hovered about Yuga but didn't say a word nor did he seem to move. Link, however, took a few hesitant steps back in abject fear. He had heard legends of him, seen him in his dreams, but never once did Link imagine he'd be seeing the King of Evil in the flesh. Sweat poured down his brow and formed on his hand. He was visibly shaking. It was the dream all over again, only this time it was no dream.

"Frightened, I see." Yuga teased. "I suppose it's only natural. After all, not often does one stare into the face of pure evil. But allow me to put your tiny mind at ease by telling you that this is merely a mindless shell of his former self. The spell I used brought him under my control. He's nothing more than a puppet. He'll do whatever I say, which is good because I need him to do.. _this!_" Ganon then spread his arms and out from his being came forth a small golden triangle that hovered in front of him and Yuga. "Behold, the Triforce of Power!" Yuga cried. "Join with me, Ganon! Let us destroy all ugliness in this world or any other. We shall be truly superior!"

Ganon then mindlessly embraced both Yuga and the Triforce of Power. Yuga cackled as an orb of dark energy began to envelope him and Ganon. The room began to violently shake as the portraits of Zelda and the sages were flung out the room. Link hid behind his shield to defend against the shockwave. When he uncovered himself, he was appalled by what he saw next. In the center of the room stood a drastically altered Yuga, who had been changed to resemble Ganon. He was a large muscular humanoid pig with tusks. His skin tone changed to a pale purple complexion and his braided hair now grew from the back of his head as opposed to the top. His clothing was tattered thanks to his muscle mass. His eyes were now completely white. In his hand was a golden trident every bit as large as he was. On the back of Yuga's hand was the Triforce of Power.

Yuga reared back and gave a loud, thunderous roar. The shockwave it produced knocked Link flat on his back. Link tried vainly to rise again, but it felt that every bone in his body was broken from that one roar. As Link lay defenseless, his mind flashed back to that recurring dream he had. Now he realized that it wasn't so much a dream, rather it was a premonition, a warning. It was predicting his own demise. As Yuga menaced towards him, his thunderous footsteps shaking the room. It seemed all Link could do was pray to the Goddesses for a quick death.

However, an answer soon arrived. Just as Yuga raised his trident to strike him down. A strange girl appeared to parry the attack. She then waved her staff to summon several tendrils of bluish magic to restrain the beast. Yuga roared and violently shook to break his bonds. With him restrained, the girl turned to face Link. Link couldn't helped but be stunned by her appearance. She was a young girl who by the look of it, seemed to be the same age as Princess Zelda. She had long, velvet hair and a headband with a red diamond similar to the one Yuga wore. Her skin had a slightly darker tone than Zelda's and her eyes were a brilliant ruby red. Her dress was similar in appearance to Zelda's, her outfit being a white dress only with a purple top with a white cape flowing behind it. The front of her dress was decorated with an inverted Triforce symbol. Her belt was decorated with twin tassels. Unlike Zelda, however, she wore white elbow-length gloves. In her left hand, she held a blue staff with an inverted Trifrorce decorating it. In short, she was the mirror image of Zelda.

The girl looked at Link with an expression of sorrow, which was all the more emphasized by her voice when she finally spoke. "Oh, Hero of Hyrule, I can hold the beast at bay for only so long." she began with a heavy sigh. "It should prove enough time to bid you a most sorrowful welcome to my kingdom. Welcome to Lorule. My name is Princess Hilda, and I have failed you in every way. I knew Yuga planned to slip into your world to abduct Zelda and the Sages. I...I couldn't stop him. Now he has used them to summoned the Demon King and siphon his power. Yuga's appetite will soon consume our worlds. Hyrule and Lorule-the beast's for the taking."

Her introduction, not that Link could barely make out what she was saying through the haze of pain in his head, was soon interrupted by a thunderous roar from the struggling Yuga. "I cannot hold him back much longer." Hilda said. "So...I must see you to safety." And before Link could say anything, Hilda waved her staff and teleported him out of the room. Link soon opened his eyes to find himself in a swirling black void, not unlike the dream he had. He saw Hilda floating in front of him. "Ah, here we are... A moment more of safety, Link." Hilda said. "Though Yuga is slipping his bonds, I will try to keep you safe from him as long as I can."

"Who...? What..?" Link struggled to ask, though it was hard for him to even breathe.

"I'm afraid I must ask you to do what I cannot-defeat the beast." Hilda replied. "To do that, you must awaken your full potential, Hero of Hyrule. I sense that the paintings of Hyrule's Seven Sages are being sent to the far corners of Lorule. You must steal those paintings back. The secret to Yuga's defeat lies in uniting your friends! Farewell... Hero of Hyrule. "We shall... meet again."

The words and images began to blur as Link slowly lost consciousness, falling to the ground.

* * *

**Well, that's the end of this chapter, finally! Next chapter, Link fully awakens in Lorule! Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11: Welcome To Lorule

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Now armed with the Blade of Evil's Bane, Link stormed Hyrule Castle in a desperate attempt to rescue Princess Zelda and Lady Impa from Yuga's clutches. Unfortunately, Link was too late to stop Yuga from capturing both Zelda and Impa. Link chased the vile sorcerer all through Hyrule and into a strange parallel dimension where Yuga, to Link's horror, used the Seven Sages to revive Ganon and merge with him. Just when it seemed Link was seconds from death, he was rescued by a girl named Hilda, the mysterious princess of Lorule. The princess tasks Link with finding the Seven Sages to defeat Yuga.**

Clang! Clang! Clang!

That's the sound Link kept hearing as his consciousness slowly returned to him. It was a rhythmic pounding of a forge, a sound Link was all too familiar with. "Geez, look at this kid." He heard a similarly familiar voice say as he slowly opened his eyes. "How the hell is he gonna last two seconds in Hyrule if... Well, look at that. He's alive." Link groaned and slowly sat up. "About time you woke up." The female voice said. "Shoulda let you die on the pavement." Link turned to the source of the voice to find it was... Madison? Only, there was something... different about her. For starters, her clothing was in a different color. She wore a purple dress with a brown top. Over it, she wore a blue apron. Her hat was a matching color of purple.

But it wasn't just her dress that was different about her. It was also her demeanor. Her voice was far more hostile and lacked the warmth of a caring grandmother that Link had grown accustomed to. And the glare she gave was utterly hateful, almost something he'd expect from Ienzo. "Madison? How did I get here?" Link asked. "Madison? Who's that?" the woman asked. "My name's Lilia. Not that it's any of your business. Really, the nerve... Passing out righter in the middle of the road and mumbling that name? What was it? Gulley? What kind of fool name is that?"

"Lilia?" Link asked. "But your name is Madison! And Gulley's your son!"

"Look, kid." Lilia replied. "I don't have kids, and even if I did, I would never name one Gulley! Now if you're done being a weirdo, get out of my house."

"But where am I?" Link asked. "Is this still Hyrule?"

"Look, I don't know what's your problem and frankly I don't give a damn." Lilia replied. "This is the land of Lorule. Or what's left of it. Now for the last damned time, scram!" When she said the word Lorule, it made Link's mind snapped back to his fight with Yuga. Now it was all starting to come back to him. Yuga had merged with Ganon and he was rescued by that girl. Hilda. The princess of Lorule. Link grabbed his bag, but noticed that his bottles were empty. "What happened to my potions?" Link asked.

"Consider it payment for me saving you." Lilia replied. Link frowned but didn't press the subject further. He instead left the house. But what awaited him outside was a scene ripped from his darkest nightmares. It was a hellish world that was seemingly splintered by large chasms. Monsters of all shapes and sizes roamed the earth without a care. The sky was much darker than the ones that covered Hyrule. "What is this place?" Link asked.

"Welcome to hell." A voice said. Link turned around to see Ienzo sitting on a bench next to him. Or, at least, his Lorulean counterpart. This Ienzo looked like the one Link knew except for the fact that his hair and beard were a bright shade of red. He wore a blue tunic with pink sleeves as well as a pink hat like Lilia. "See ya met the wife, huh?" he said with a somber expression, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Sorry if she was a bit ornery. Due to everything that's been happening, she's under a lot of stress."

"Ienzo?" Link asked.

"Who? My name's John." the man replied. "Who are you?"

"My name's Link." Link replied. "What happened to this place?"

"It wasn't always a bad place." John replied. "It was once a peaceful land where people used to be happy. But then it happened. The Great Cataclysm. Ever since then, this world has been slowly dying. Earthquakes started happening, a famine ripped through the land, monsters began appearing. People started to lose hope and sink into despair."

"What's the Great Cataclysm?" Link asked.

"I dunno. But whatever it was, it must have been bad for things to turn out like this." John replied. Link began to leave until he felt a familiar sensation in his head. It was the same sensation he felt when Sahasrahla's telepathic voice. "_Can you hear me, Hero of Hyrule?_" Came the voice of Hilda, much to Link's surprise. "Princess Hilda?" Link asked.

"_It is good to see you are alright_." Hilda replied. "_I wished to warn you about the kingdom in which you've found yourself. Though my kingdom of Lorule may remind you of your home, I assure you our worlds are as different as night and day._"

"I can see that." Link replied.

_"In fact, one may say they are quite literally worlds apart._" Hilda continued. "_But Yuga's mad scheme has nearly merged our worlds close together, so close in fact that they are now connected. What's more, the Seven Sages which you seek are now spread across my lands, locked away in treacherous dungeons. One of them is in the town nearby. But as parts of Lorule have long crumbled away, it is nearly impossible to get to them from your current location._"

"Then, what do I do?" Link asked.

_"To reach them, you must first find a way back to your kingdom of Hyrule._" Hilda began."_From various parts of your world, you can reach the same parts of mine. I also marked the general areas where each sage can be found. Now, one more thing. Though I have already welcomed you to Lorule, as you have no doubt have discovered, my kingdom... isn't so welcoming to strangers. Farewell- and please be careful out there, Link._"

"Princess, wait!" Link said. "Do you know where Princess Zelda is?" Link, sadly, did not receive a response. "Princess Hilda! Rats... Well, she told me where one sage was, at least." Link paused to weigh his options a bit. Part of him wanted to rush on ahead and find the sage, but he then realized that to do so would be absolute folly. He was tired and still wounded from his fight with Yuga and he was out of potions. In his current state, he could do very little. It was best to go back to Hyrule and regroup. Plus, he was sure Sahasrahla was worried about him.

"Okay, so I got here from some glowing crack in the wall." Link muttered to himself. "So I can use it to get back to Hyrule." Link headed to the right and into the nearby town. When he got there, he was appalled by what he saw. The town was nearly destroyed. There were ghosts and pig-like monsters that roamed the streets. Some of the people lived in broken and trashed homes. Link even saw a person knock out another and take their wallet. He tried to help the person but was stopped by some of the pig monsters. He dispatched them with the Master Sword.

But what really caught his attention were the masked people in the small field. There was an elderly man in a red mask standing on a stone ball. Around him were other people marching around him in a circle chanting, "Mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo". It was a truly unsettling sight, yet Link felt compelled to come closer. "Though we have seen the world crumble before us, we must not give into the corruption of thievery!" The masked elder said. He then noticed Link and pointed his staff at him. "Monsters can keep you strong!" he said to Link. "They are your only salvation, my son! You must don the mask! Don the mask!" the people around him began chanting "Don the mask!" as they continued to march.

"We are corrupt. Corrupt!" he shouted. "Do not be deceived. Only monsters will save us now! Mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo..." Link slowly backed away. Next to the group of cultists, he found an old hollowed-out house. And in the wall, he found a crack in the wall that very much resembled the one that brought him to Lorule. "Here's hoping it works both ways." Link said as he merged into the wall and went through the crack. As he traversed the strange, rainbow-colored void, he felt a sensation akin to crossing a gate of some sorts. Once through the crack, he ended up in someone's house. More specifically, Lynda's house. Lynda was a large, stout woman with blonde hair whose usual attire consisted of a blue dress. "Why Link!" Lydia exclaimed with surprise. "Now how did you get in here?"

"Oh! Well... you left the door unlocked ." Link replied nervously. He was many things, but liar was definitely not one of them. "I wanted to come visit you but you were sleeping so I decided to come back later."

"Aw, did you stop all this way to pay little ol' me a visit?" Lynda asked. "Oh you are so cute! Well, I'll leave the door unlocked so you can come visit anytime you want."

"Thanks, but now I gotta go." Link said. "I'm busy with something."

"Okay, come back anytime!" Lynda said as Link left the house. Link found himself back in Kakariko Village and more importantly, back in Hyrule. "Never thought I'd miss this place that much." Link said. He walked over to Sahasrahla's house and found the elder behind the house, investigating another strange crack in the wall. "Why, Link!" Sahasrahla said as he noticed Link walk by. "I'm so relieved to see you're okay! Take a look at this! A little while after you went into Hyrule Castle, another earthquake occurred. That's when this happened. Strange cracks all over Hyrule, even behind my house. What's going on? And what of the princess, have you managed to rescue her?"

Link paused as he listened to the elder's tale, then replied. "Have I got a story for you. But let's go inside, I'm kinda tired."

"A good idea." Sahasrahla replied. "I'll brew some tea." And the two went into the house. Link sat on the chair while Sahasrahla prepared some jasmine tea. "So, what happened?" Sahasrala asked as he gave Link a small cup of tea. Link paused for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure where to start." Link began. "But I guess I should tell you that I couldn't save Princess Zelda. Yuga got to them before I did. I chased him all the way to this strange place called Lorule. It's kinda like Hyrule, but a lot scarier. He used the Seven Sages to revive Ganon, then he merged with him to take the Triforce of Power. But before he could get me, I was rescued by a girl named Hilda. She's apparently Lorule's princess. She told me that the Sages are all scattered through Lorule."

Sahasrahla listened to the boy's tale in silence, his brows creased in concern. "I see... So Yuga has become evil itself in a world of shadow... Curse him for all eternity!" he finally said. "So that must have been the cause of these strange cracks that litter Hyrule. Oh Link.. With Princess Zelda and the other sages in enemy hands. I fear for our poor kingdom. But you, my boy! You hold the fabled Blade of Evil's Bane. As long as you wield that sword, hope shines through. I'm confident you can get them back. Your courage will see us through in the end."

"I'm not so sure..." Link trailed off, hanging his head.

"What do you mean, child?" the elder asked.

"Ever since I started this adventure, I've messed up everything." Link began. "I couldn't save any of the sages. I'm just wondering if I'm truly a hero."

"My boy. You are indeed a courageous lad." Sahasrahla began, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But you must remember that you are merely human and thus prone to mistakes. You think that the Hero before you was perfect? No! He had made some mistakes in his quest. But the fact that he forged on despite those mistakes is what truly made him valiant. And it is that same trait that drives you, Link. No matter how many mistakes you make, you forge on. I have faith in you, and I'm sure Zelda does too." Link looked at the elder for a while then smiled back in return. "Thanks, Sahasrahla." Link said.

"You're quite welcome. my lad." Sahasrahla replied as Link walked to the door. "Wait, Link!" he yelled. Link turned to face him. "What is it?"

"This Princess Hilda... are you certain you can trust her?" the elder asked.

"Well, _she_ did save my life and she's helping me find the sages." Link replied. "Shouldn't I trust her?"

"Far be it from me to tell you what to do." Sahasrahla said. "I'm just saying that don't you find it a bit strange how she knows where every sage is?" Link paused to think a little. "It does sound strange, but it's my only lead so I don't really have a choice." he replied.

"I know that. I'm merely telling you to be careful." Sahasrahla said. "Things aren't always as they appear." Link wordlessly nodded in reply and left the house, the cryptic warning from the elder repeating itself in his head. Sahasrahla did have a point. Link knew very little about Princess Hilda or her motivations. What if she was leading him into a trap? Link pondered this question and others until he finally shook off the thoughts. It didn't matter now. He had to find the sages, and Princess Hilda was probably his best lead he had. Motivations or not, he had to trust her for now.

But first, he had to pay a visit to a certain merchant.

* * *

**That's another chapter down! Link prepares himself to go back to Lorule and find the first sage next chapter. Stay tuned. **


	12. Chapter 12: In the Den of Thieves

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Link woke up to find himself in the nightmarish world that is Lorule. He is then contacted by Hilda, Princess of Lorule, who tells him that the Seven Sages are all scattered across Lorule and the only way to reach them is to find an entrance to Lorule from Hyrule. Link returns to Hyrule and tells Sahasrahla all that he knows. Now our hero visits Ravio to see if he can't buy the items off of him.**

"What do you _mean_ you won't give me the items?!" Link asked Ravio. After his talk with Sahasrahla, Link remembered that Mother Maiamai said she could improve on Link's items. But the only problem was that all of Link's items were rented. So, he went to see Ravio to see if he could get the items from him. Things were obviously not going so well. "Exactly what I said, Mr. Hero." Ravio replied. "I've been giving out too many freebies. I'm a businessman, and I need to make some money. If you want, you'll have to buy them like everyone else."

"But Ravio! This is about two worlds that are in danger!" Link practically whined.

"I sympathize with you, Mr .Hero." Ravio began. "Really I do. But like I said, I'm a businessman. And I need to make some business. Besides, my items aren't that expensive; They cost a hundred rupees each. Well... except for the Fire, Ice, and Sand Rods. Those cost two hundred rupees."

"That's still expensive." Link said. "And you don't have a Sand Rod."

"I did have a Sand Rod." Ravio replied. "But I sold it to some other guy. What was his name? Osfala or something? Whatever. Look, hundred rupees each. Take it or leave it." Link gave a defeated groan and reached into his wallet to pull out six silver rupees (100 rupees each). I've got six hundred rupees. How much will that give me?" Ravio took the rupees and paused to think. "Well, that'll give you the items you rented earlier." Ravio said. "Sure you want em? No refunds."

"Yes!" Link said. "I need them!"

"Sold!" Ravio said as he took Link's items and removed the bunny ears off of them. "Enjoy your new items, Mr. Hero! And now you don't have to worry about me taking em back if you lose."

"Thanks, Ravio!" Link replied.

"By the way, what other world were you talking about?" Ravio asked.

"It's a world called Lorule." Link replied. "It's kinda like Hyrule, but it's in bad shape. There are monsters everywhere and the world looks like it's really falling apart. Why, do you know something about it?" Ravio looked to the side and paused for a bit, not saying a word. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell." he finally spoke. Now it was Link's turn to pause, staring at Ravio with a raised eyebrow. "Okay..." Link said. "Well, thanks for the items. Gotta go."

"See you later, Mr. Hero!" Ravio replied. "Oh, and if you happen to find the guy who rented my Sand Rod, do be kind enough to make sure he returns it, please."

"Okay, I will." Link said as he left the house. With him gone, Ravio turned to Shreerow, his pet bird. "Looks like Mr. Hero is coming along nicely." he said to the bird. "Maybe he was the right choice after all. Let's see how he does.."

* * *

**_Meanwhile, at the Witch's Potion Shop..._**

Using Irene's broom, Link flew by to Irene's Grandmother's potion shop to stock up on potions for his quest through Lorule. When he entered the shop, he saw Irene's Grandmother stirring her pot with a somber look on her face. "What's wrong, ma'am?" Link asked, though he knew full well what was the matter. "Oh, hello there Link." The witch replied somberly. "Oh, my granddaughter Irene was taken from me by a strange man. He said something about Irene being a sage and before I could stop him, he turned her into a painting in front of my eyes! What kind of monster would take such an innocent young girl?"

"I'm sorry." Link said. "I was coming to see if I could buy some potions, but I can come back later if you want."

"No. It's okay." Grandmother replied. "I need the business. It helps take my mind off of it. What do you need?"

"Seven blue potions please." Link said.

"That'll be 350 Rupees!" she said. Link gave her the rupees and filled his seven bottles with blue potion. He then stopped to look at the somber old woman. "Ma'am, I promise you. I'll bring Irene back." he said firmly.

"You... You will?" She asked.

"Of course." Link replied. "Do I need a reason to help someone?"

"Oh, bless you child." Grandmother said. "I'm proud my granddaughter has found someone so gallant." Link nodded and left the house. He then rang the bell and summoned Irene's broom to fly him over to Mother Maiamai's cave. He entered the cave to find Mother Maiamai and her children playing. "Oh, hello Link." she said. "Nice to see you again. And speaking of nice, you have anything I can make nicer?"

"Actually I do." Link replied as he pulled out his Bow, Hookshot, Bomb Bag, Tornado Rod, Hammer, and Boomerang. "Okay, then. Stand back!" she said. At that point, ten of the Maiamais formed a semicircle around her and began to chant. She then inhaled each of the items into her as she began to glow with yellow light. After a while, she finally spat them all out. Each of Link's items now had an altered appearance. The Bow, Boomerang, and Hookshot were now blue, the Bombs were larger and black, the Hammer was now red with spikes on it, and the Tornado Rod now had twin propellers.

"There you go, Link." Mother Maiamai said. "All of your items are now nicer. Your Bow and Boomerang can fire more shots. Your Bombs and Hammer are stronger, and your Hookshot has a longer range."

"Thanks for upgrading my items." Link said.

"You're quite welcome, my lad." Mother Maiamai replied. "It's the least I could do after you helped rescue my babies. If you have anything else for me to make nicer you know where to find me."

"I will." Link replied as he left the cave. Once outside, Link rang the bell to summon Irene's broom and fly him back to his house, where he saw another of those strange cracks. Using his wall merge, Link traveled through the crack and found himself back in Lorule, arriving at a vacant house. He made his way from the vacant house all the way back to Thieves's Town. But then came another problem: Where could the sage possibly be? Princess Hilda had said that the sage was somewhere in the town, but where was the best place to start looking?

Fortunately, Link didn't have to wait long for an answer soon came. From a distance, Link watched as two suspicious characters entered the gargoyle statue. This was a town of thieves after all. Perhaps that was their hideout? And if they had a valuable statue, that might be the best place to hide it. He walked up to the door under the statue and knocked. The door didn't open, but a voice called out. "Do you know the Thieves' Song?" It asked.

"Thieves Song?" Link asked back.

"If you don't know that, then you shouldn't be here!" The voice angrily replied. "Now scram!" Seeing as there was nothing more he could do, Link began to walk away. But that's when he heard another voice urge him closer. Link turned to see a bearded man wearing a purple shirt and vest as well as a yellow bandanna on. He wore brown pants with matching brown boots as well. Link followed the man into his house. "I saw you trying to break into the Thieves' Hideout." the man said. "There must be something valuable if you were just gonna march in like that."

"They have something that I really need to get." Link replied.

"Ha! You've got guts, kid!" the man said. "Tell you what. I'll help you get in. You need to know the Thieves' Song in order to enter the hideout. Here's how the song goes." The thief cleared his throat as he prepared to sing. "Many years ago, I felt so free... Thought I chose the thief's life, but it chose me. Every time I say I'm a-leavin'. This accursed life sets me right back to stealin'! And that's the song! Got all that, kid?"

"Yeah." Link replied. "Thanks for your help, but why are you helping me?"

"I used to be the leader of the Thieves." the man began. "But some new guy named Blind stole my place and kicked me out. If you can beat him, however, they'll have to let me back in." Link paused as he listened to the man's explanation. "So basically... you're helping me to help yourself." Link said.

"Hey, it's every man for himself out here!" the man protested. "Besides, all I want is my gang back. I don't really care about whatever you're after. So it all works out, see?"

"I suppose so." Link replied. "Thanks again."

"Anytime!" the man said as Link left the house. Now armed with the Thieves Song, Link made his way back to the gargoyle statue and knocked on the door again. "Do you know the Thieves Song?" the voice asked. Link cleared his throat as he prepared to sing. Fortunately, he had a very good singing voice. "Many years ago, I felt so free... Thought I chose the thief's life, but it chose me. Every time I say I'm a-leavin'. This accursed life sets me right back to stealin'!"

"Wow... What a fetching voice... Come on in, buddy!" the voice said as the door opened. Link walked through the door and down the stairs into the Thieves Hideout. The place was quite expansive, far bigger underground. Next to him was the Big Door that he had seen in all the places he explored so far. There he met a young man with blue hair who was by the look of it no older than Link himself. He wore a purple shirt with some body armor and held a spear in his hand. "Never seen you around here before..." the spear boy said. "You one of the new recruits?"

"Uh... yeah! Just joined today." Link said. It was an obvious lie, but he had to think of something that would let him explore this place. The spear boy stared at Link for a few moments before his face lit up with a smile. "Perfect timing!" he said. "You can take over here on guard duty for me. Have fun. And don't do nothing that'll get me in trouble, fresh meat! I'm gonna get me some fresh air. Fresh meat, fresh air... Hmm hm...hmm hm... Hey, that's kinda catchy! Maybe the bard can put a tune to that." And the boy walked out of the hideout humming his impromptu song.

Link walked along the walkway, scanning the room for any sign of the sage's painting. But when he did, his eyes trailed downwards to find that a young girl was imprisoned on the lower floor. That must have been what the spear boy meant when he said guard duty. Link knew that his main priority was finding the sage, but he couldn't leave that girl behind either. Plus, she might know where the sage was. Link had to find a way to save her. But as there was nothing he could do from where he was, Link walked back to the entrance and went to the door on his right.

The room he found himself in had a blue orb near the center of the room surrounded by walls. There was also a floor switch near a sealed door. Next to him, there was a small part of the room blocked off by wooden posts with another floor switch. When Link struck the orb, wooden posts appeared to impede his path. Link used his wall merge to move around the posts and go to the other side of the room. There he saw an arrow trap firing a stream of arrows as well as two gargoyle statues. He also saw another small floor switch. That gave him an idea. He dragged one of the statues over in front of the arrow trap, using it as a makeshift shield to defend against it. He dragged it all the way onto the floor switch, but nothing happened.

Realizing that all three switches needed to be pressed to open the door, Link dragged the other gargoyle to the other switch. He then used his wall merge to get to the blocked part of the room and activated the last switch, causing the door to open. Link walked through the door and into the next room. He found himself on the upper part of the room. Link walked on the metal grating to the left of the room, then used his wall merge to reach the other side. He then went down the stairs to the lower part of the room. Link made his way across the moving conveyor belt and walked into the next room.

In this room, Link found himself faced with a strange contraption. It was a moving Bomb with a single eye. For now, Link avoided the creature and walked up the conveyor belt in the room, using his wall merge to get to the ledge where a blue orb was. that caused the other conveyor belt in the room to reverse direction. Link then grabbed the moving Bomb and threw it into the moving conveyor belt, causing it to explode near the other orb. That unlocked the door in the room. He entered the next room, which had another blue orb in it. Curious, Link stood next to the orb and struck it with his sword. That caused the grey part of the floor open up. Thinking this could be useful, Link made a note of it as he went through the other room.

From there, Link took a left and found himself back in the lower part of the main room where he saw that girl. He remembered where the girl was, but the door to her cell was unfortunately locked. He walked to the other side of the cell and saw wooden bars. He used his wall merge to slip into the girl's cell. "Who are you supposed to be?!" the girl asked, startled by Link's sudden appearance. "And how did you get in here?!"

"My name's Link." Link replied. "I'm here looking for something important. And I'm also here to rescue you. What's your name?"

"Ellie." came the girl's reply. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a painting, would it?"

"Yes!" Link exclaimed. "Do you know where it is?"

"Figures." Ellie said. "That thing must be worth a king's ransom if Blind went to all this trouble just to hide it. And now other folks are searching for it. Well, I may have 'accidentally' learned where he hid it... maybe. That's why the creep locked me up. Can you believe that?!" She then gave a long, thoughtful stare at Link. "Say, maybe we can help each other!" she said. "You get me out of here and I'll help you find that painting... Maybe."

"How do I know you won't double-cross me?" Link asked with a suspicious eyebrow.

"You don't." Ellie replied. "But I'm your only chance of getting that painting, so like it or not you're stuck with me. Now get a move on! I don't wanna be trapped her any longer than I have to!" Link sighed and pressed the nearby floor switch to unlock the door outside the cell. He then used his wall merge to go into the other cell with another living bomb, using it to blow a hole in the cracked wall and travel through the hallway into the next cell. This cell had blue and red switches similar to those found in the Tower of Hera. Link stood on the red platform and hit the switch to elevate himself to the next platform. He then hit the blue switch to raise himself out of the cell.

He then walked above the cells and made it into a cell with the same switches and platforms went through the door He was then locked in a dimly lit room. Lighting his lantern, he saw himself surrounded by five Eyegores. Link quickly defeated them all and the room lit up, revealing a treasure chest with a small key in it. He took the key and made his way back to Ellie's cell and unlocked the door. "Alright! Not bad, Link!" Ellie cheered. "Now let's get out of here! That painting you're looking for is on the outskirts of town. I'll take you to it. By the way, how'd you do that thing with the walls? It's... kinda creepy. Maybe you can teach me how to do it!"

"It's... complicated." Link replied.

"Anywho, let's book!" Ellie said. The two walked out of the cell, but alas, they didn't get very far as the southern door slammed shut and an alarm blared through the hideout. "Crud! We've been spotted!" Ellie shouted. "Let's head for the northern door!" The two ran to the northern door but it was locked. That's when they saw two switches. "Stand on the switches!" Ellie commanded. The two stood on the switches and the door opened. The two ran into the next room only to be surrounded by four thieves. They were blue alligator-like monsters. "Ellie, get back!" Link shouted. Ellie ran to a safe distance as Link took his Nice Hammer and defeated all of the thugs.

"There's more where that came from." Ellie said. "I'd help you fight, but I don't have my gear."

"That's okay. Let's just keep moving." Link said. The two ran down the stairs and into the next room. They ran across the metal grating but soon came across a wide gap in the floor. Link used his wall merge to get to the other side and pressed the switch for another grate to appear. Ellie ran across it and the two were soon impeded by wooden bars. "Stay here." Link said as he used his wall merge to slink through the bars and go on the other side. That's when he found the room flooded with water. He swam across the room to the other side where he saw two switches. Seeing that he would need Ellie, he frantically looked around for something he could use as a bridge.

That's when he saw the metal grating leaning against the wall. He tried to pull it off, but it was too heavy, even with his Power Gloves. That's when he got an idea. He merged into the wall and walked behind the grating before emerging out of the wall and pushing the grating onto the gap, creating a makeshift bridge. "Ellie, this way!" he called out. Ellie ran across the makeshift bridge and joined up with Link. They then pressed the two floor switches and it lowered the posts, but didn't reduce the water level. Link swam into the next part of the room and saw a lever in the wall. He pulled the lever and the water drained out of the room. Ellie ran up to join with him again, hitting the blue switch to get to the upper part of the room. "Not bad, Link. You do this often?" Ellie asked.

"You have no idea." Link replied as he and Ellie went to the red platform, hitting the switch to raise it so they could walk on the narrow walkway. The two then ran up the stairs to the second floor of the hideout. The door nearby was locked, but there was only one switch. "I'll press this switch." Ellie said. "You find the other one." Link climbed up the stairs and made his way up until he found the other switch. He pressed it to open the door, only to find himself and Ellie ambushed by two thugs. Link defeated the thugs by tossing his Nice Boomerang at them, which could separate into multiple boomerangs, then finishing them off with a blast of energy from his sword.

Link and Ellie ran through the door and out the room and Link found themselves back in the long room with the four walls. He must have been getting near the exit. The next room they ran through was the one with the large trapdoor. As the two neared the exit, they were surrounded by multiple thieves. "What do we do, Link?!" Ellie asked, frantic. "No worries." Link replied with a cocky smile. "I got a plan." Link pulled Ellie by the wrist to the blue orb. Before the thieves could do anything, Link struck the switch with his sword, causing the trapdoor to open and the thieves fell through the pit.

"Awesome, Link!" Ellie said as she high-fived Link. "If I go on a treasure hunt, I'm bringing you with me!"

"Maybe later." Link replied. "But let's get out of here!" The two ran through the room with the moving conveyor belts and went up the stairs to the upper part of the room. Link pressed the switches in the room and activated the fans, allowing him and Ellie to make it to the other side. They ran through the next room and into the other room only to be stopped by two thieves. Thinking quickly, Link threw a boomerang at the blue orb to raise the wooden posts and stop them from getting to Ellie. He then wall merged to slink through the bars and dealt with each thief separately. With them gone, the door opened.

Link hit the orb to lower the bars and the two of them ran out the room back into the hideout's entrance. "We're trapped!" Ellie shouted. "That door's the only way out! Hope you've got a key for that, Link!"

"No, but I think I know where it is!" Link said. "Come on!" Link and Ellie ran across the metal walkway where they saw a large chest out of reach. The two activated the switches to cause the wall to begin moving. Link merged into the moving wall and made it to the treasure chest, where the Big Key lied in wait. The two ran back across the walkway and unlocked the door. Link ran into the room, but the floor rose up before Ellie could do the same. "Gyaaah! What gives?!" she asked.

The air was pierced by a demonic cackle. "Silly brat!" the voice said. "Did you actually think I'd let you waltz out here with your little knight in shining armor?!" At that moment, black smoke appeared in the room. The mist condensed into a humanoid form When the mist cleared, what stood in its place was a red, horned skeleton figure dressed in a white coat. It held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other hand. "No one escapes from Blind the Thief!" it said. "You and your friend will die here!"

Link drew the Master Sword and charged at Blind, attempting to slice him. But strangely, his sword went right through the thief! Link swung his sword wildly, striking again and again, but to no avail. Blind flashed a fanged smile and struck Link with his sword, sending him flying to the edge of the platform. Blind then inhaled and breathed out a torrent of black fire. Link dodged the flames and stopped to think. There had to be a way to defeat him! Link then carefully observed his shield. That's when another idea formed. He tossed a bomb at Blind, who reflexively raised his shield to defend against the explosion.

Link then wall merged into Blind's shield while he was distracted. Blind looked to see Link had suddenly vanished. "Where'd he go?!" he asked, holding his shield at a distance. Link emerged from the shield and struck Blind a few times in the back. The demon screamed as the Master Sword struck his skin and immediately swung his own blade, forcing Link to leap back. "You little punk!" Blind roared as he spat a dark fireball at Link. Link struck the fireball with the Master Sword reflecting it back at Blind, who used his shield once again. Link again wall merged into his shield to hide from Blind, forcing him to look around for Link. Link took the opportunity to slash at Blind some more.

After several hits, Blind threw away his shield and charged at Link, slashing at the boy relentlessly. Link blocked each swing with the shield and fought back in kind. The two seemed evenly matched until Link leapt into the air and performed a horizontal slice at Blind's head, decapitating him. Blind fell to the ground and appeared to be dead. Link was ready to take a much needed sigh of relief... only for his eyes to widen when he saw Blind's decapitated body rise again. Adding to his growing horror, Blind's head began to float in midair as well. "Did you really think it would be that easy?!" Blind cackled. "I'm harder to kill than you think!"

The head spun around the room, spewing dark flames while the body randomly attacked with sword swings. Link did his best to avoid this two-fronted assault and focused attacks on Blind's body. It was difficult, to be sure as the body was in constant motion, not helped by the relentless attacks from Blind's head. Eventually, Link managed to slay the Thief Leader. His body exploded in a flash of light. Link sighed, relived the fight was over. At that point, the floor lowered itself, allowing Ellie to enter the room.

"Wow... You actually beat Blind!" she said, astonished. "Good riddance! Now let's scram. That door will get us out of here." The two went through the southern door and up the stairs. They were soon back in Thieves Town. "You're looking for that painting, huh?" Ellie asked. "That one of that younger... elder-looking fella?"

"Yeah." Link replied.

"I know where it is. Follow me." The two went to an abandoned building down the road. In the building was a bag filled to the brim with Rupees and few chunks of Master Ore. It was a rare metal that was used to forge the greatest of swords. Link took the Master Ore and stored it in his bag. But in the center of the room was the most important thing. It was the painting of Osfala, Sahasrahla's apprentice. "This is it, right?" Ellie asked.

"That's it." Link said.

"I don't see what's so special about it. It's just an ordinary painting to me." Ellie said as she stared at the painting. "Though I do like the whole... flat thing going on there. It _is_ kinda interesting. Almost looked like he walked in the painting and got stuck there, you know? Anywho, thanks for getting me out of there. See ya." And with that, she walked out of the building. It seemed that after all of his hard work, Link found one of the sages. But now he had another dilemma: How could he get him out? Link then stared at the bracelet Ravio gave him. Maybe he could use it's magic to undo Yuga's spell.

Link reached out and touched the painting, and in a flash of light, he was transported to a different place altogether. It was a large, blue platform surrounded by seven circles. A diamond appeared in front of Link and from within it appeared Osfala. "Wh-Where am I...?" he asked as he looked around before staring at Link. "Link? What are you doing here? And with the Master Sword, no less!"

"Long story short. You got kidnapped by Yuga and I just rescued you." Link replied.

"You mean to say that you... rescued... _me?!_" Osfala asked. "But I'm supposed to be the hero of our day. I'm supposed to be the one who'd be there for Princess Zelda!" He then lowered his head. "I suppose I am merely a sage after all. How very odd. Yet now I understand my role in this. And so I pledge my support to your quest. Thanks for saving me, Link."

"You're welcome." Link replied. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"There's no time to celebrate I'm afraid." Osfala said. "Find the rest of the sages before it's too late."

"Don't worry, I will!" Link said.

"Well, since you're the hero, you'll need this Sand Rod more than me." Osfala said as he handed Link the Sand Rod. "I'd love to give it to you as thanks for rescuing me, but I'm renting it from a merchant named Ravio. If you see him, do be sure and return it to him for me."

"Sure thing." Link said as the triangle on the floor began to glow. Link stepped on it and was transported back to Thieves Town. At that point, he met the strangest sight: Shreerow, Ravio's pet bird, swooped in and snatched the Sand Rod out of Link's hand. It then flew off in the distance and disappeared. "Well, that was odd." Link said to himself. But he was too excited to think on it for long. He had not only rescued someone, but he manged to find one of the sages! This was truly time for a celebration. Sahasrahla _had_ to hear about this!" He went to the destroyed house and went through the rift back to Hyrule.

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**Well, that's another chapter down! My longest yet! Chapter 13 begins soon. Link makes his way into the Sand Palace next. Stay tuned. **


	13. Chapter 13: Good News and Somber Goodbye

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. On the search for one of the sages, Link ventured into the treacherous Thieves Hideout. With the help of a young thief named Ellie, Link explored the hideout and managed to defeat the infamous Blind the Thief. He managed to find the painting of Osfala and now reports back to Sahasrahla to tell him the good news.**

Back in Kakariko Village, Link ran into Sahasrahla's home, his face beaming with pride as he wore an ear-to -ear smile. Sahasrahla turned to face the lad, his bushy eyebrows raised in confusion. "Why, Link." he began. "You're looking much peppier than normal. What's all this then?"

"I've got great news!" Link excitedly replied. "I managed to rescue one of the sages! I saved Osfala!"

"You did?!" Sahasrahla exclaimed. "Oh, congratulations my boy! You really are the hero this kingdom needs! While I do commend your victory, I must say that this is no time for celebration. There are still six sages left to find. You must find them all if you are to save Hyrule."

"Okay, so where to next?" Link asked.

"That, I'm afraid, I cannot answer." Sahasrahla replied.

"What do you mean?" Link asked. "You always know where to go!"

"True, but I am unfamiliar with this land of Lorule." Sahasrahla began. "I'm afraid that I've done all I can to help. The rest falls to you now, Link. From here, you must venture into Lorule and find the rest of the sages. It will be a perilous journey, but it is one you must undertake. And it is one I know you will succeed. I have faith in you. And I know Princess Zelda has faith in you too." Link held his head in sadness a bit, but then raised it up with a smile. "Thanks for your help, Sahasrahla." Link said.

"Anytime, my lad." Sahasrahla replied. "Good luck!" Link walked out of the elder's home and was about to walk to his house when he remembered the two pieces of Master Ore he found at the Thieves Hideout. That made him think about Ienzo and Madison. He hadn't visited them for a while. Link wondered how they were doing with Gulley missing. Thinking it couldn't hurt to check up on them, Link made his way over to their house. When he entered the home, he found Ienzo slumped over the table asleep. Madsion was in the next room asleep as well.

Link walked over and gently nudged Ienzo on the shoulder to awake him. "H-huh? What? W-who's there?" the blacksmith muttered sleepily. "Gulley?" He then turned to find Link standing over him. "Oh, it's you Link. Must have dozed off there."

"Sleeping on the job? You'll never be a blacksmith if you don't get up at the crack of dawn." Link jokingly replied, hoping to instill a little humor.

"Funny." Ienzo dryly replied. Link frowned when he realized his joke wasn't getting anywhere. "So, did you find Gulley?" Link asked. It was a stupid question because he already knew the answer, but he figured he had to try something. Ienzo held his head in obvious sorrow. "The wife and I-we searched everywhere, we... couldn't find him." he replied. "This is bad. What if monsters got to him? What if he-?! Tell me my boy's okay!" He shouted as he violently shook Link's shoulders, tears welling up in his eyes. It was so rare to see the usually stone-faced Ienzo so... vulnerable. Link wanted to tell him _something_, anything to comfort him. But he didn't know where Gulley was either.

Ienzo managed to calm himself down. "Sorry, Link. I'm just worried about my little boy." Ienzo then looked at the pieces of Master Ore in Link's hand. "Say, is that Master Ore? How'd you get that?"

"I found it in one of the caves here." Link replied.

"Well, you've found just enough for me to temper that mighty fine sword of yours." Ienzo said. "It would be perfect!"

"Are you sure you want to?" Link asked.

"Of course I do. It's not every day I get to temper the Master Sword." Ienzo said. "Plus, I need something to keep me busy."

"You know about the Master Sword?" Link asked.

"Of course! Everybody in Hyrule knows about the Blade of Evil's bane." Ienzo replied. "Ever since I first started being a blacksmith, it's been my dream to temper that sword. So let me take a shot at it." Link looked at the Master Ore, then said. "Okay!"

"John, get over here!" Ienzo yelled out. John walked out of his room with his hammer in hand. "Okay, John. It's tempering time!" Ienzo said as he grabbed the Master Sword. John's eyes widened at the sight of the blade. "That's _the_ Master Sword?!" John asked in amazement. "Sure is!" Ienzo replied. "And we get to temper it! Now, let's get to work!" And so, the two men began to temper the sword. Link, meanwhile, sat on the chair and watched the two men go to work on the sword. It was equally rare to see Ienzo happy as it was to see him sad.

Eventually, after a process that took over an hour, both Ienzo and John presented Link with the finished project: A tempered Master Sword. The blade glowed with a bright red light. "Here you go, Link." Ienzo said. "That's the best that sword can get, unless you find another blacksmith."

"Thanks, Ienzo." Link replied as he sheathed the sword.

"I don't know what the princess has you doing, but while you're out on your little adventure, could you do me a favor?" His head lowered again. "Could you find my little Gulley. I know I can be a bit hard on you... but it would mean a lot to me if you could find him for us."

"Don't worry, I'll bring him back." Link replied.

"I know you will." Ienzo said with a hopeful smile. "Thanks. And thanks for letting me temper that sword. My life long dream's finally accomplished!"

"Anytime." Link replied as he left the house. After that was done, he made his way to his own home, deciding that it was time to buy the rest of the items from Ravio. Link made it to his house and opened the door. Ravio greeted him in his usual way. "Hey there, Mr. Hero!" he said, gesturing to the Sand Rod. "You came just in time. One of my customers finally returned my Sand Rod! It lets you control sand and use it for anything you want. It's good for traveling through deserts and it makes for a great party favor at beaches!"

"Great, cause I'm here to buy it and the other two rods." Link replied.

"You sure?" Ravio asked. "Together they cost 600 rupees each. Think you can afford it?"

"Oh I can afford it, alright." Link said with a cocky smile as he pulled out the large bag of rupees he found at the Thieves Hideout. He opened the bag and rupees of all colors spilled out. "In fact, I think that's enough rupees to set you up for life." Ravio gasped when the rupees spilled out, practically drooling at the sight. He then pulled out an abacus and began making calculations, muttering to himself. After making his calculations, he gave another gasp. "Van Gogh Bull's Eye!" he exclaimed. "Sold! The rods are all yours! I'm rich!"

Ravio and Sheerow then began to dance all over the room. "Woop! woop! woop-de-woop! Boop! boop! boop-de-boop!" he sang as he danced. Link watched the bizarre display with a raised eyebrow before going to collect his three rods. Eventually, the two stopped dancing to catch their breath. "Sorry about that, I got a bit carried away." Ravio said. "Anyway, thanks for your business. Thanks to you, I'm sold out! And with all these Rupees, I can finally retire! Heck, I can actually find my own place!"

Ravio then gave a long thoughtful pause. "Uh, this is really awkward, but can I stay here for a little while longer?" He asked. "At least until I finally find my own place?"

"Well, you've pretty much made yourself at home here, so why not?" Link said. "Consider it thanks for the new items."

"Anytime, Mr. Hero." Ravio replied. "So, what are you up to now?"

"Well, the Seven Sages are scattered all over Lorule and I have to find them all." Link said. "I've already found one, so hopefully the rest won't be that hard to find."

"Oh, that sounds dangerous." Ravio said. "Well, glad you're doing it. Good luck, Mr. Hero."

"Thanks, Ravio!" Link replied as he left the house. Once outside, he rang the bell to summon Irene's broom and fly him over to Mother Maiamai's cave. He entered the cave to find the Maiamais standing in front of a portal of sorts. "Why, hello Link! You're just in time!" Mother Maiamai said. "We're about to leave, my tykes and I. To other worlds we'll surely fly!"

"Oh, well it's sad to see you go." Link replied. "But before you do, could you make these nicer?" He then pulled out his Fire, Ice, and Sand Rods and laid them on the floor. "To make them nicer, I will surely try." Mother Maiamai replied as she inhaled all three rods. Glowing with light, she spat each out one by one. The Fire Rod now had a swirling flame on the top, the Ice Rod had a snowflake on its top, and the Sand Rod had a small sun as its decoration. "Thanks Mother Maiamai!" Link said.

"Not so fast, Link!" Mother Maiamai said. "I have one final gift to give you." She then began to inhale once more, only this time the thing she inhaled was Link himself!" The young boy screamed as he was inhaled by the large Maiamai. After a while, she finally spat Link back out. "What did you do to me?" Link asked. "I gave you the Hurricane Spin Attack! Good for dealing with large groups of enemies." Mother Maiamai said.

"Did you have to eat me to do that?" Link asked.

"Sorry, it was the only way." Mother Maiamai said. "Well, it's time for my tykes and I to say our final goodbye!"

"Actually... I'm not going with you mama." One voice said. Everyone in the cave turned to see a Maiamai jump out of the crowd. "What do you mean?" Mother Maiamai asked. "This whole time we were separated, I was thinking: 'Maybe it's time I stopped relying on mama so much. Maybe it's time to be my own Maiamai. I've always been this scared little kid, but maybe it's time for me to strike out on my own. I know you probably think I'm not ready, but how will I know if I don't try. So what do you say, mama? Please?"

Mother Maiamai listened to her child's plea, impressed by the bravery and resolve he showed. After a thoughtful silence, she replied with a small tear. "If you truly feel you're ready, then you can stay."

"Thanks, mama!" the Maiamai replied.

"Well, Link. It's time for us to go." Mother Maiamai said. "Please look after my young one."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll check on him once in a while." Link said.

"Thank you, Link. Let's meet again sometime! Goodbye!" And with that, Mother Maiamai and her 99 children exited through the portal, which then closed behind them, leaving Link and the lone Maiamai alone. "Are you sure you want to stay?" Link asked. "It's going to be dangerous."

"To be honest, I'm not sure." The Maiamai replied. "But I have to try. Isn't that what life is all about? Taking chances?" Link looked at the Maiamai with a smile. "I guess so." he replied. "Well, I have to go. Good luck with your new life... And thanks."

"You're welcome, but for what?" the Maiamai asked.

"For helping me." Link said as he left the cave. Never before had he felt so inspired. If that little Maiamai had enough confidence to leave his mother, then maybe it was time for Link to have some of that confidence. Perhaps it was time for him to stop letting doubt get in his way. He _will_ save the sages and he _will_ save Zelda. And no one was going to stop him. With his confidence restored and his resolve hardened, Link began to search for a lead on the next sage.

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**Okay, that's another chapter down. Link explores the Desert Palace next chapter. Stay tuned. **


	14. Chapter 14: The Desert Palace

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _A Link Between Worlds._ After successfully rescuing Osfala from the Thieves Hideout, Link happily rushed to tell Sahasrahla the good news. He then went on to get his sword tempered by Ienzo, get the rest of his items from Ravio, and get them upgraded by Mother Maiamai. After getting some encouragement from one of the Maiamais who opted to stay in Hyrule, Link forged on his quest with newfound determination.**

**OOC: First off, I wanna say thanks for all the reviews so far! Glad to know everyone's enjoying this story even though it's my first time novelizing a _Zelda_ game. Also, I might as well get these two announcements out of the way.**

**Announcement 1: Once I'm done with this novelization, I will be novelizing Twilight Princess in anticipation of the upcoming game Hyrule Warriors.**

**Announcement 2: And yes, when the game comes out in September, I will novelize Hyrule Warriors. **

After visiting Mother Maiamai in her cave, Link began to search the area for a way to Lorule. His search took him all the way to the marshland south of Hyrule. He took a left turn and headed towards the Hyrule Desert. That's when he saw one of those rifts that led towards Hyrule. He went through the rift and found himself back in Lorule Kingdom, and more specifically, in a swamp. Before he could do anything, the telepathic voice of Hilda spoke. "_Welcome back to Lorule, Link_." she greeted. "Princess Hilda!" Link replied. "Where am I?"

"_The place you have found yourself is near a dreaded and rotting swamp. This is Misery Mire_." Hilda began. "_Within it I sense... the very faint presence of a Sage. But this is quite odd._.."

"What is it?" Link asked.

"_I also sense desert sand near this Sage, yet there is no desert in Lorule_. _How very strange, indeed_." Hilda replied.

"Maybe not in Lorule, but there's one in Hyrule!" Link said.

"_Regardless, you will need an item that will give you control over sand_." Hilda said. "_I say again there is no desert in Lorule, but the start of your path is through here. Quite baffling. So say I, Hilda of Lorule._.."

"Wait!" Link said. "Do you know where Zelda is?"

"_Unfortunately no, I cannot sense her presence as of now_." Hilda said. "_But rest assured, I will do my best to search for her_." And with that, the telepathic presence faded, leaving Link alone again. Link then made his way to the swamp. Along the way he was attacked by swarms of flying mushroom-like creatures who spat at him. Link blocked their attacks with his shield and forged ahead. Upon arriving at the swamp, he saw another rift in the rock pillar. "Since I'm at the swamp in Lorule, this should lead to the desert in Hyrule." Link said to himself. He then went through the rift and indeed he found himself in Hyrule's desert region.

Link started to explore the desert until he felt something pull at his leg. He looked down to see a hand emerging out of the sand. Or rather, the hand was made of sand. It attempted to drag Link under. In a panic, Link stabbed at the hand with his sword. The hot metal caused the creature to scream. It was a Geldman, a monster made of sand that lurked in the desert. Deciding now was the time to put his new Sand Rod to the test, Link pulled it out and pointed at the sand creature. The staff glowed with yellow light as Geldman screamed in pain. As if being molded by invisible hands, the Geldman's body began to contort in pain until finally it froze into stone. Link then took out his Hammer and finished the monster off.

Link wanted to take a sigh of relief, but he knew full well that there were bound to be more of them. He had to tread carefully here. He made his way to the southeastern part of the desert where he climbed up the pair of stairs. From there, he used his Sand Rod to create a makeshift bridge to the nearby pillar. He used it again to make his way to the platform where he saw another rift to Lorule. Link went through the rift and found himself back in Misery Mire.

From there, he walked along the bridge and made his way to the southwest part of the mire. He found another rift and walked through it to make his way back into the desert. Using his Sand Rod to make makeshift bridges. He made his way to the Desert Palace. "The next sage has to be in here." He said to himself. "Here goes." Link climbed up the stairs, used his Sand Rod to make a makeshift bridge and entered the palace. Inside the Palace, he used his Sand Rod to form a bridge and get to the other side of the room. He went down the stairs and used his Sand Rod on another patch of sand. This time he used his wall merge to get to the door.

In the next room, he was confronted by two Gibidos, mummy-like enemies. He used his Fire Rod to burn away at their bandages, revealing them to be Stalfoses. He then finished them off with his sword and moved on. Link climbed up the stairs where he saw two Beamoses, mechanized sentries that fired lasers. To avoid detection, Link used his wall merge and slipped by them. He then went through the nearby door.

The next room had a small patch of sand on the bottom floor as well as two more Beamoses. He couldn't do anything from where he was so he went to the other part of the room, which floor was covered with sand. Using his Sand Rod, he created a bridge in between the four pillars with blue orbs on them. He used a spin attack to activate the orbs, causing the gate to open. He went back to the other part of the room and used his Sand Rod on the patch of sand to create a wall to block the Beamoses' lasers as he went through the door to the next room.

This room had a large patch of sand as well as three gargoyle statues. The door in the room was locked and could only be open by pressing the three switches in front of it. That's when Link got an idea. He pulled two of the statues on the sand and used his Sand Rod to raise them up to the switches. He then pulled them onto the switches. He used his Sand Rod to form a bridge to the statue on the ledge and drag it over to the final switch. With all three pressed, the door was unlocked. He walked through it to find himself back in the main room. He used his Sand Rod to form another bridge to the door on the left, avoiding the spiked traps.

Link entered the room to find himself locked in with a segmented creature that moved through the sand. Link used his Sand Rod to expose and stun the creature before finishing it off with his sword. With the creature gone, the door unlocked itself. Link went through the door and into the next room which had sand in it. He jumped down from the sand floor and climbed up the stairs. From there, he made a bridge with his Sand Rod and went through the door. The next room was mostly empty sans a small lever on the wall. He pulled the lever down and it caused sand to pour down the ramp into the other room, filling it with sand. With the room full of sand, Link could reach the treasure chest, which had a small key in it. He used the key to unlock the door and enter the next room.

The next room he found himself was back in the same room he had visited previously, only now he was on a higher ledge. He saw a lever on the wall and pulled it down, filling the room with sand. Using his Sand Rod to make makeshift bridges, me made his way to the switch and pressed it, revealing a large treasure chest. He used his wall merge to get to the chest and open it. But what was in the chest was no Big Key. But instead, it was another pair of fingerless gloves. The sign next to it said that they were the Titan Mitts, which granted anyone who wore them incredible strength.

Link put the gloves on and headed back through the door all the way back to the room where he fought the strange creature. Seeing a large boulder block the door, Link decided to put his new Titan Mitts to the test and lifted the boulder with ease, tossing it away. The door was locked, but Link soon saw a small treasure chest on the far side of the room. He climbed up the stairs and used his Sand Rod to create a bridge to the treasure chest. He opened it and found a small key, which he used to unlock the door. Link walked down the hallway and was back outside the palace.

Link saw a cave entrance in the wall and went through it. As soon as he entered the room, the floor tiles came to life and flung themselves at him. Link used his shield to defend himself, but as soon as the assault was over, he found himself attacked by two ant lions that spat fireballs at him from the sand. Link used his Sand Rod to stun them, then finished them off with his sword. With them gone, a bridge appeared. He walked across the bridge and up the stairs before using his Sand Rod on a patch of sand to form another bridge. He then used his wall merge to get to the stairs on the right. He went through the door and up the path of sand before going to the door on his right.

The room he found himself in had the same red and blue platforms like the Tower of Hera. Link walked down into the room, using his shield to defend against the arrow traps. He reached a blue orb and struck it to raise the platform. He then got on the ledge and use his Sand Rod to raise the patch of sand that had the gargoyle statue on it and pulled it out of the way. With it gone, the arrow trap would continuously hit the orb, raising and lowering the platform. Link went to one of the platforms and made it to where a small chest was. That's when he found a small key. He went to the northeastern part of the room and used the platform to get on the ledge and exit the room.

The next room was covered in sand and had a ramp for sand to pour out of like the past room. On the left of the room balls rolled off of only to fall into bottomless pits. There were also some blocks impeding the way. Link formed another idea and used his Sand Rod to raise the sand and let the ball roll on and destroy the block. He climbed up the stairs and did the same with the second ball. He then repeated the strategy with the third ball, causing it to roll into the block impeding the ramp. That allowed sand to pour out into the previous room. He went back in the room and used his Sand Rod to make a bridge over to the ledge where the big chest was. He opened it to find the Big Key.

Link left the room and used the small key to unlock the door. The door in the next room was locked, but Link then saw a Beamos on a patch of sand in the center of four orbs. Link walked to the Beamos to get its attention, then quickly raised the sand under it, causing its laser to hit the four obs and unlock the door. He went through the door but was locked in with four Pehats. He defeated them all and a small key appeared. He took the key and went back to the room. There he saw another Beamos in the center of four blue orbs. Repeating the same strategy as before, he walked to the Beamos to grab its attention, then raised the sand beneath it before running to the platform before it elevated to the ledge where the locked door was. He unlocked the door and forged on.

Link walked through the next room and into another room to find the Big Door, but there was no way to get to it from below. He went to another room with sand in it. He raised the sand with his Sand Rod and made his way to the ledge where another small key was lying in wait. He grabbed the small key and went back to the room with the Big Door. He used his small key to unlock the door nearby. The room he found himself now had more of those living bombs he saw at the Thieves Hideout. He used one to destroy the block impeding his path. The room had more sand and more of those moving bombs that seemed to follow him wherever he went. That's when he saw three more blocks on the pillars in the room.

Link struck one of the bombs with his sword so it would stop moving in front of the pillar, then raised a patch of sand. The bomb exploded and destroyed one of the block. He repeated the strategy on the other two blocks. With all three destroyed, the arrow trap in the room could freely fire arrows at the blue orb, raising and lowering the platforms. He went back to the platforms and used them to get on the ledge and go through the door. From there, he found himself back in the room with the Big Door. The ledge he was on had a lever next to him. He pulled it and sand began to fill the room, letting Link access the Big Door. He unlocked the door and forged on.

The next room Link was in had quicksand in it. Link used his Sand Rod to create a bridge and made his way outside where there was a rift to Lorule. He walked through the rift and found himself back in Lorule. There was a pit of sand nearby, but he couldn't see the painting of the next sage. When he walked onto the sand, the ground began to rumble. Link readied his sword, preparing to face whatever would rise out of the sand. What did emerge was a monstrous plant. It's body was long and slender like a serpent and its head was pink. The beast spotted Link and spawned several flying plant creatures. Link fired at them with his bow and attempted to strike the monster, only for it to hide within the sand.

Link remembered how he fought his way through the temple and used his Sand Rod on the spot where the creature traveled to, pulling the monster out of the ground and stunning it. He ran up to the beast and slashed at it several times with his tempered sword before the monster dove back into the sand, spawning more creatures to distract Link. Link dispatched them with a Sword Beam, but was nearly swallowed whole when the monster rose out of the sand beneath him. Link again used his Sand Rod to stun the beast, then struck at it some more with his sword.

The monster dove into the ground and emerged again, only this time the head bloomed to reveal five eyes in its mouth. The monster fired a torrent of sand from its mouth, but Link used his Sand Rod to create a wall of sand to defend against it. Link rolled out of the way and attempted to fire another arrow at one of the six eyes, only for the creature to summon a vine and grab Link by the leg. It raised Link over its mouth, preparing to swallow him whole. Link quickly tossed a bomb in the monster's maw. The creature screamed in pain as the bomb exploded in its bowels. Link used the opportunity to cut himself down with his sword and fire several arrows into its eyes.

The monster screeched and feel to the ground. Link leapt up and impaled the monster's heart with his sword, dealing the mortal strike. The creature writhed in pain before exploding in a flash of light. The sand in the area drained into nothing, revealing in its place the portrait of Irene. Link touched the portrait and in a flash of light, he was teleported to the same place Osfala was. "Well, hello Link." Osfala greeted. "Found another sage, have you?" Osfala's answer came in the form of a diamond appearing right next to him. Like a newborn baby bird, Irene emerged from the diamond.

"Wh-Where am I?" Irene asked, looking around the room in a panic. She then saw Link in front of her. "And what are you doing here, Link?"

"Hey there, Irene." Link greeted. "You were kidnapped by Yuga. I managed to find you. Good to see you're okay."

"You... you came to rescue me?" Irene asked, blushing a bit as she sheepishly rubbed her shoulder. "I... I dunno what to say, Link! But, uh, hey! My fortune came true after all! Took your sweet time getting here, didn't you? I was in big trouble! And I've gotta get back to my gram!"

"I'm sorry! I had a lot to do!" Link replied defensively.

"It's no biggie." Irene said. "Just don't take so long next time! And don't make the other sages wait either. C'mon, get to saving the rest!"

"I'm on it!" Link said.

"Oh, and one more thing." Irene began. "Could you go check on my gram, and let her know I'm okay. She must be worried sick about me."

"Don't worry, I will." Link assured her. The triangle in the center of the platform glowed and Link stepped in it, transported back to Misery Mire. "_Congratulations for finding another sage, Hero of Hyrule_." came Hilda's telepathic greeting.

"Thanks, Princess Hilda." Link replied.

"You will also be pleased to know that I have found another sage." Hilda said. "He is in the Dark Palace, northeast of Lorule Castle. To get there, you must go through a rift in the northeast."

"That's the Eastern Palace!" Link exclaimed. "I'm on my way!" Link then ran for the nearest rift to Hyrule.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, at Lorule Castle..._**

After her discussion with Link, Hilda retreated to the balcony of the castle as she always did, looking over what was left of the once proud kingdom of Lorule. Never before had she felt so helpless. Her kingdom was dying right before her eyes and she was powerless to stop it. Sometimes she wondered why she performed such a mundane ritual. Perhaps it was her way of reminding herself to carry on and fight for her kingdom. Or maybe she just liked reminding herself of her utter failure. She gave a weary, tired sigh as she went to the throne room, wherein it hung the portrait of Zelda. It felt wrong to deceive the boy like that, but it was necessary.

Hilda walked up and gazed upon the picture of Zelda. As she did, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of anger mixed with a little jealousy. Here she was, day after day fighting to protect her kingdom from its utter and inevitable destruction and Zelda was the princess of a kingdom that seemed like a fairy tale filled endless happy endings. It almost made the bile within her rise at the thought of it. Oh, what she wouldn't give for her kingdom to be that again! A place where everyone was happy once more, a place where there were no more suffering.

"Oh, lovely Zelda." Hilda began, conversing with the portrait as if Zelda could actually hear her. "What is it like to rule a kingdom blessed by so many happy endings? Once upon a time, Lorule was such a place. Once, but sadly no longer. Lorue was much like Hyrule. So very beautiful. So very prosperous, So very... _promising_. We are in desperate need of a hero- and your Link is superb. We all deserve a happy ending, don't we? I can only hope Link will emerge victorious."

And with that, she left the throne room, closing the door behind her and leaving Zelda alone again.

* * *

**And another chapter done! Link explores the Dark Palace next chapter. Stay tuned! **


	15. Chapter 15: The Dark Palace

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. The next sage was located in the Desert Palace of Hyrule, but in order to get there, Link had to go through Misery Mire, a wretched swamp in Lorule. Having reached the Palace, he ventured through the sandy santcuary to find the next Sage, Irene. With her freed, Link set off to head to the Dark Palace for the next sage.**

**OOC: Remember when I said that some dungeon's might be changed? The Dark Palace is one of them. Read on and you'll see what I mean.**

**Announcement: I've got great news for those who have read my Kid Icarus: Uprising Novelization. Well, I'm pleased to announce that... **

_**IT HAS IT'S OWN TV TROPES PAGE! **_

**Here's the link: /FanFic/KidIcarusUprisingTheNovelization. I'd like to give a big thanks to Nintendoman01 for being kind enough to make the page. If you've read my story and make edits on TV Tropes, then I encourage you to please add a little to the page. Give it some more Wiki Magic. And please be kind enough to leave a review! My ego is not that fragile to be hurt by criticism. But do know there _is_ a difference between constructive criticism and rabid flames. **

After arriving back in Hyrule, Link rang the bell to summon Irene's broom. The broom arrived, but still without a rider on it. "_Hey there, Irene here._" came Irene's telepathic greeting. "_Did I scare you?_"

"Not really." Link replied. "I've had people talking in my head all day, so I'm pretty used to it by now."

"_Huh. Well, I just wanted to say... thanks for saving me again_." Irene replied. "_As much as I'd love to get out of here, being a sage and all, I can't leave just yet. So, I gotta keep sending my broom for now. I really miss gram. I hope she's okay_."

"I'm sure she is." Link said. "Anyway, I was just about to head over there. Mind giving me a lift?"

"_Sure thing! All aboard!_" Irene said as Link grabbed onto the broom. The broom flew him all the way to Irene's Grandmother's potion shop. He entered the door to find Irene's Grandmother still brewing her potions. "Yes, Link? What can I do for you?" she asked. "Actually, ma'am." Link began. "I'm not here to buy anything. But I'm here to tell you something. I've got good news. Irene's okay!" That made Grandmother's eyes widen. "Are you serious?!" she asked. "You've found her?! Wonder of wonders, is it possible?! Well, where is she?!"

"Right, about that..." Link trailed off. "Irene is a descendant of one of the Seven Sages and I kinda need her help with something, so she can't leave right away. But don't worry, she's perfectly safe where she is."

"One of the Seven Sages?" Grandmother asked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Even when she was little, I could tell there was something special about her. That dear girl. No matter what trouble she finds herself in, she always bounces back with a smirk on her face! My granddaughter and I will be forever indebted to you. Speaking of bouncing back, be sure to try my potions! Wouldn't want you to fall in battle out there! In fact, from now on you can have free potions whenever you like!"

"Thanks!" Link replied. "But I've already stocked up on potions now so I don't have to worry about that."

"Well, whenever you run out, you know where to find me!" Grandmother said. Link left the house with a confident smile, feeling like he really accomplished something. Remembering the task at hand, Link went along the path to Zora Domain. He eventually came across another rift to Lorule and used his wall merge to travel through the rift and enter Lorule. "_Welcome back to Lorule Kingdom, Link._" Princess Hilda said. "Princess Hilda., where am I?" Link asked.

"_The place you have found yourself in is one of true evil._" Hilda began. "_From here, you must locate the Dark Palace. There you will find a sage in truly desperate need of aid. Please... make haste. So say I, Hilda of Lorule._" Before Link could say anything more, Hilda's telepathic presence had left. "If the Dark Palace is where the Eastern Palace would be, then getting to it shouldn't be a problem." Link said to himself. Link went down the path he would take if he were heading to the potion shop from Zora's Domain. When he could go no further on foot, he used his wall merge to traverse the gap.

Link walked along the path until he reached the pillars of rock, a sign that he was getting close to the Dark Palace. He then took a right and went through the gate where he found himself in a garden maze. That's when he felt the telepathic presence of Hilda again. "_You are nearing the Dark Palace_." she said. "_It is home to the followers of a great and terrible beast. They were once soldiers from Lorule Castle. Now they revere a foul being and cower here in this temple. I am to blame for this. I was too weak to protect them. They were all good people...my people. _

"I'm sure you did the best you could." Link replied, attempting to offer some words of comfort to the forlorn princess. Never before had he met anyone who sounded this depressed. "_Thank you for your sympathy_." Hilda replied flatly. "_But there is no time for that now._ _If they capture you, they will surely sacrifice you to that monster. Please be careful. So say I, Hilda of Lorule_." Link shrugged and pressed on. He walked a little further and saw a guard clad in purple armor. He wore a helmet that was outfitted with a red light. Link quickly melded into the wall and stealthly walked past the guard. He walked further to find two more guards patrolling the area.

Link used his wall merge to meld into the wall in the center and waited until the two guards turned to face the wall before running off. Link took a left and headed north to see two more guards patrolling the area, going in opposite directions. Link merged into the wall and waited until the guard moved away before going further up the path. When the other guard began to turn around. Link quickly merged into the wall and waited until he was out of sight. After that, he went further down the path to see more guards. Link went up the stairs and melded into the column to avoid the guard before walking on the narrow walkway, avoiding another guard.

He then took a right and saw yet another guard standing by. He merged into the wall to avoid the guard and ventured further to find himself near the entrance of the Palace. The only obstacle in his way were three guards. He waited until the guards were facing the wall before running off and merging into the center wall. He then reemerged from that wall and merged into another wall to sneak past the guard. Everything seemed to be going quite well... until he sneezed. At that point, the guard spotted him and sounded an alarm. Link tried to run, only to be stopped by something stinging the back of his neck.

Link pulled it out to find that it was a blow dart. At that point, his vision began to blur. Link tried to run into the palace, but found himself staggering. Link didn't get far as he soon felt a hard blow to the back of his head, sending him to the ground. In his fading vision, he saw three guards gather around him. "An intruder in the Dark Palace!" Link heard one of them say, though he wasn't sure which one. "What should we do with him?"

"I say kill him now!" another guard said.

"No." The third guard said. "We bring him to our master. He will find him a worthy sacrifice." By then, Link was unable to hear that part or the rest of their conversation for their words became garbled and distorted as the last vestiges of conscious thought slipped from Link.

* * *

_**Hours Later...**_

"...The Great Catastrophe has shown us the weakness in the Royal Family." A voice said to a cheering crowd. The noise was more than enough to rouse Link from his drug-induced slumber. Link groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by an audience of cheering guards. Link tried to move his arms ,but was unable to. That's when he found himself chained to a large slab of black stone. In front of him was one of the guards gesturing to the audience. He must have been the leader.

"But is has also shown us another path!" the man continued in his bizarre speech. "And that is why we have stopped serving the do-nothing Royal Family and now serve a glorious new master! All he asks is that we bring him an adequate sacrifice. Which is why we have brought him this interloper!" He gestured to Link, which drew thunderous rows of "Boo!" from the crowd. "This pathetic being who dares to defile the Dark Palace! Now he will learn the fate of all who dare to invade our treasured Sanctuary!"

Two other guards came and removed the bar on the huge gate in front of Link. "Oh, mighty Gemesaur King!" The man said as he fell prostrate on the ground. "Accept this sacrifice from your unworthy and most humble vassals!" He then ran out of the way. At that moment, Link spotted a pair of blood-red eyes glaring at him from the darkness. Thunderous footsteps echoed through the room as the red eyes move closer and closer to Link. Eventually, the red eyes were revealed to belong to a large lizard-like beast. The monster's skin was pitch black and covered with various rupees and gems, especially on its tail. Its face was concealed by a large mask with more gems on it.

When the monster entered the room, it gave a loud roar that echoed throughout the room. Link really struggled to break free at that point. He did not want to end up this monster's dinner. He struggled and squirmed and tried to break the chains, but was still groggy from the poison. The Gemesaur eyed Link like any hungry beast. It then took a few steps back and lowered itself, preparing to charge at Link. Seeing that, an idea formed in Link's head. He steeled himself and prepared for the monster's charge. The Gemesaur charged at Link, intending to slam him against the slab. As soon as it was near enough, Link used his wall merge and melded into the wall, causing the beast to shatter the chains.

Link reemerged from the wall and was about to pull out his sword, only to find to his horror that his sword and items were gone! The Gemesaur lashed out at Link with its tail, much akin to a scorpion. Link leapt to the side to avoid it. Without his items, it seemed that was all he _could_ do. The Gemesaur lashed out at Link with its tail again, but this time Link grabbed the monster by his tail and threw him to the other side of the room. Astonished by the act, Link looked down to see he was still wearing his Titan Mitts. While that was nice, he couldn't just toss the thing around all day.

At that moment, he heard the sounds of fighting. Link looked up to find the guards in the audience fighting something or someone. Upon closer inspection, the someone was revealed to be Ellie, the girl he had met in the Thieves Hideout. "Link, catch!" Ellie shouted kicked two of the guards away and tossed Link his sword, shield, and items. "What are you doing here, Ellie?!" Link asked. "I was in the neighborhood and saw you needed help." The young girl replied. "Consider this my way of returning the favor." Before she could say anymore, she was overrun by some of the guards. "Hey! Let go of me, creeps!" she demanded.

"Restrain her." The guard leader commanded. "Let her bear witness to her friend's fate as well as her own."

"Ellie!" Link shouted as he prepared to come to her rescue. "Don't worry about me!" Ellie shouted back. "I'll be okay! Just take out that monster!" Before Link could do anything, he had to block some gems that the Gemesaur fired from its back with his shield. Link then charged at the beast and attacked it several times with his tempered sword, but it had no effect. The mask would deflect every blow. He realized he had to destroy the mask to deal any lasting damage. Link took out his bombs and tossed them at the monster's mask. The explosion damaged the mask and caused some of the rupees littering its body to fall to the floor.

The beast roared in rage at its mask being damaged and charged at Link. Link tossed another bomb at it and rolled out of the way. He then pulled out his Hammer and pounded away at the Gemesaur, cracking the mask with each blow. Eventually, the mask shattered completely, revealing the monster's true hideous face, as well as a large red ruby upon its forehead. The creature grew enraged and let out another monstrous roar that darkened the room, its red eyes being the only source of light. The beast randomly charged around the room, attempting to trample the young hero.

Link did his best to avoid the Gemesaur's mad charge and pulled out his Fire Rod and used it to slightly illuminate the room. Upon doing so, he saw twin torches. He shot fireballs at them to light up the room. That's when he saw the Gemesaur charging at him. Link instinctively pulled out his bow and fired several shots at the ruby on the Gemesaur's head. This caused the monster fall to the ground stunned. Link took the opportunity and leapt into the air and impaled the beast in its forehead. The Gemesaur gave a final, pained roar before falling to the ground and exploding in a flash of light.

The sight drew shocked gasps from every guard in the audience. Then, everything fell silent. No one uttered a word as Link silently sheathed his sword and glared at the guards, specifically the ones who were holding Ellie. At that moment, the leader shouted, "Our master has fallen! Retreat!" The room was then filled with the sounds of screaming as the guards left the room, tripping over themselves and each other to escape. Eventually, they all left the room, leaving Link and Ellie alone. Ellie jumped down to meet Link.

"Nice job." she said. "You showed those guys who's boss!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't have done it without you." Link replied.

"Aw, thanks." Ellie said. "By the way, I wanted to give you this." She reached into her bag and pulled out some Master Ore. "I figured you could use this more than me. Plus, I wanted to thank you for saving me back at the Thieves Hideout."

"Thanks, Ellie!" Link said as he took the Master Ore and put it in his bag. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

"I'm gonna explore this place some more." Ellie said. "With those guys gone, it'll be a lot safer."

"Sure you don't need help?" Link asked.

"Nah, I'm good." she replied with a dismissive handwave. "Well, gotta go! See ya!" She then pulled out her hookshot and left the room, leaving Link alone. He then went through the door the Gemesaur came out of. What he found in the next room made him gasp. It was the portrait of a Sage, but more importantly, it was Gulley's portrait. "Gulley!" Link shouted as he ran and touched the painting, teleporting them to the same place where Osfala and Irene were. Gulley emerged from a diamond.

"H-h-hey, is that really you, Link?" Gulley asked.

"It sure is, pal!" Link replied as he hugged his surrogate little brother tightly, so very relieved to see him okay.

"W-where am I?" Gulley asked. "Where's my mama and papa?"

"Madison and Ienzo are okay, but their worried about you." Link said. "You were kidnapped by this bad man named Yuga, he wanted you because you're one of the Seven Sages."

"Pfff...hahahahaha!" Gulley laughed. "Did you fall for that. I'm not scared! Why would I be? I know I'm a Sevensage!" Gulley paused a bit to think. "Did I say that right? Whatever it is though, it sounds like a big deal."

"It is." Link replied. "I'm gonna need all of you to help save Hyrule."

"Well you better find all seven of us Sevensages!" Gulley said. "Wow, that's a mouthful!"

"Don't worry, you can count on me!" Link replied with a chuckle, having dearly missed Gulley's childlike naivete. The triangle in the center of the platform glowed and Link stood on it. He was then transported back in front of the Dark Palace. "_Link, Link? Can you hear me, Hero of Hyrule?_" Hilda asked telepathically. "I'm here, Princess Hilda." Link replied.

"_Oh, good._" Hilda said. "_When I couldn't sense your presence, I had nearly assumed the worst. So, were you successful?_"

"Yep! I managed to save another sage!" Link replied jubilantly.

"_I am pleased to hear that_." Hilda said. "_And I'm sure you'll be pleased to know I have found another Sage. The next sage is found in Swamp Palace, which is South of Lorule. Again, you must find a rift from Hyrule that will lead you there. So say I, Hilda of Lorule._"

"Okay!" Link said as her telepathic presence faded. He then rang the bell to summon Irene's broom and take him to the blacksmith's house. He needed another tempering session.

* * *

**Another chapter down. Three sages have been found, four more remain. Will Link find them all? Stay tuned!**


	16. Chapter 16: Joy and the Swamp Palace

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Link attempted to infiltrate the Dark Palace to free the next sage. However, things soon became dangerous when he ended up captured by the cultists in the palace. They intended to sacrifice him to their leader, a hideous beast called King Gemesaur. But thanks to Ellie's rescue, Link managed to fell the beast and rescue the sage, which turned out to be Gulley. With Gulley finally safe, Link heads to Ienzo to tell him the good news.**

**OOC: After writing the last chapter, it made me realize something. Me writing out the dungeon layouts might get a little repetitive. So, with that in mind, I'll be changing up the next four dungeons. Just read on and you'll see what I mean.**

Riding Irene's broom, Link flew over to John the blacksmith's house in Lorule. Upon seeing him land, John called out to him. "Hey, you there! Kid!" he shouted. Link turned to face him. "Th-that sword in your hand, lemme see it for a sec!" Link walked towards him and unsheathed his blade. John stared at it for a few moments. "This is really a fine sword." He said. "Excellent craftsmanship! Just excellent. Whoever made this was very skilled. Not as skilled as I am, of course. Wow. I mean, I am the top blacksmith in the world, you know... But whoever did this might just be the second best. Ah, this is getting my blood running! Hey, follow me!"

John ran back into the house with Link following close behind him. "Aw dangit!" he shouted. "Here I am. I finally found some motivation and we don't have any Master Ore! Without that, I can't power up your sword!"

"Actually, I've got some with me." Link reached into his bag and pulled out the pieces of Master Ore Ellie gave him. "Whoa!" John shouted. "With that, I can power up that sword of yours! What do you say? Wanna give it a try?"

"Sure." Link replied as he handed John the sword. "Oy!" John called out to the craftsman. "Let's get to tempering this kid's sword! Give me a hand!" And so, the two went to work on the Master Sword, with Link and Lilia watching in amazement. Link paid particular attention to the smile Lilia had as she watched her husband worked, a stark contrast to the immensely bitter woman he encountered earlier. She seemed truly happy for what was probably the first time in years. Eventually, after a process that took over an hour, both John and the craftsman presented Link with the finished project: A _golden_ Master Sword.

"Well, that'll do her!" John said. "What do you think?"

"It's great, John!" Link replied. "Thanks!"

"Anytime, my boy." John replied. "Told you I was number one! That's the mightiest sword in the world! You're gonna be unstoppable now, kid!"

"Yaahaa!" The craftsmen cheered. "Look at that! It's a fine piece of work! A fine piece of work, indeed!"

"Wow, John!" Lilia said. "I didn't know you had it in you anymore!"

"I didn't either." John replied. "At least, until now. All I needed was the right motivation." He then turned to Link. "Thanks for lighting the fire in me, kid. I haven't worked on a sword like that in years. I feel young again!"

"And I wanna thank you for making my husband happy again." Lilia added. "It made me remember why I married him. I liked how determined he was. And sorry if I was a bit rotten to you the first time we met. Been so upset about the state of fair Lorule that I haven't had much reason to smile lately."

"It's okay." Link said. "I'm sure you're not the only one. Well, I have to go now. Thanks again for fixing my sword."

"Not a problem, kid!" John replied. "Come back and visit sometime." Waving goodbye to his new friends, Link left the house and went outside. "Well, I've managed to cheer one person up." Link said to himself. "Now there's one other person who needs a little happiness." He then began to make his way towards Thieves Town...

* * *

_**In Hyrule...**_

Upon arriving back in Kakariko Village, Link made his way to Ienzo and Madison's house. He walked in the house with a proud smile on his face. "Link?" Ienzo asked when he and Madison saw him walk in. "What is it?" Madison asked. Link could no longer hold in his excitement and blurted out, "I found Gulley!" That made both Ienzo and Madison's eyes widen with surprise. Maidson was so stunned by the news that she was quickly brought to tears "You found Gulley?!" Ienzo asked. "Well, where is he?!"

"Please, Link!" Madison pleaded. "Tell me where is my little boy?!" Link lowered his head and remained silent. "About that... I've got a lot to tell you." he finally replied. Link then sat the two down and began to tell them the whole tale about what happened when he went on that errand and everything that followed, from his meeting Princess Zelda to his adventures through Lorule. Ienzo and Madison listened in stunned silence at the boy's fantastical tale, completely dumbfounded. But the most surprising news of all was the revelation that Gulley was a sage.

"Our boy... a sage?" Ienzo asked, still unbelieving it. "Well, we always knew there was something special about him, but I never thought we'd live to see the day that we find out our son is one of the Seven Sages!"

"Yes." Madison replied. "This is quite a surprise. So, that's why Gulley can't come home yet?"

"Yeah." Link answered. "I can't go into all the details, but I need Gulley's help with something. But don't worry, he's perfectly safe where he is."

"Well, I still think this is completely crazy." Ienzo said. "But as long as Gulley's safe, that's all that matters. Thanks a lot, Link. You really did good."

"Oh, I can never thank you enough for returning my little boy to me!" Madison tearfully said.

"Neither can I, Link." Ienzo added. "I dunno what strange adventure the princess has you on, but something tells me it's more important than whatever work you need to make up. I know I can be a bit of a slave driver, but just... be careful out there. I can't afford to break in another apprentice."

"I don't think anyone else would work for you." Link jokingly chuckled. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you later!"

"Okay, Link. And tell Gulley we said hello!" Madison said.

"I'll be sure to tell him!" Link said as he left the house. He couldn't help but feel more confident in himself. He managed to fufill a person's dreams as well as save Gulley. It felt so good to bring joy to others. But he didn't have much time to celebrate. He had to find the next sage! Hilda said the sage was south of Lorule in the Swamp Palace. That meant it was south of Hyrule in the marshlands. Link traveled to the marsh and found a rift in one of the pillars. He went through the rift and found himself in Lorule's marsh. He went over to what he assumed to be the Swamp Temple only to find that it was blocked by a giant boulder. Link tossed one of his bombs at it, but it had no effect.

Seeing as how there was nothing more he could do, Link decided to explore the area. He went to the forest area, picking up large boulders along the way to proceed. In the middle of the forest, he saw a large, pink house with a roof that was shaped to look like a person's hair and glasses. But it was what was _next_ to the house that truly caught his attention. there was a fenced-in garden where the centerpiece was a large bomb, far larger than the ones he was using. The garden was blocked off by another large boulder.

Link entered the house to see if he could ask the owner if he could use the bomb. When he did, he saw a dark-skinned person in a lab coat. The man had red hair and glasses, much like the roof on his house. He wore a yellow shirt and matching yellow pants under his coat. "Yo ho ho! Who is it that goes?" The man sang in rhyme. "Is it friend or foe? Who is it? Do I know?"

"It's no one you know." Link replied, chuckling a bit. His rhyming reminded him of Mother Maiamai. "My name's Link. What's yours?"

"The master of Bombs I make my claim, and the great scientist Bosco is my name." Bosco said. "If it's bombs you seem to be searching, then leave me to my researching! What I can sell you now is n-n-nothing! Sorry, I ain't got more for your mutton!"

"Actually... I want to know about the big bomb in your garden." Link replied.

"Buh-buh-buh-buh! Want the Big Bomb Flower?" Rosco asked. "Lucky you-I'm lending that power! For a one-time fee, use it for hours and hours! Oh yeah, the Big Bomb Flower. Wanna n-nuh-know about its power?"

"Yes." Link said.

"Alrighty then!" Rosco began. "The flower blooming in the garden is really a bomb! And it's a total bargain! Just go on and touch it. It'll be a following bloom. Big Bomb Flower gonna make big boulders go boom! But be careful, you know. Just the slightest scratch will make it explode! This big flower is only found here! If you're interested, kid, you'll wanna get near! Wanna use the Big Bomb Flower? For just 200 Rupees, you can stop looking so sour!"

"I'll take it!" Link said as he handed Rosco the money. "Well go, go go! It's growing outside!" Rosco said. "Try it on out and take it for a ride! And don't give me any flak! Big Bomb Flower always grows back!"

"Good to know." Link replied. "Thanks for your help!"

"No problem." Rosco said. "Take care, little dude!" Link went through the door to the right which led into Rosco's garden. He gently tapped the Bomb Flower and the plant sprang to life. Link walked around a bit to test it out and the flower followed his every move. He moved to the large boulder blocking the garden's exit and with a gesture, commanded the bomb to stay there. He then tossed his boomerang at it and the bomb exploded, destroying the boulder.

The Bomb Flower regrew in the center of the garden and Link commanded it to follow him. He led the bomb all the way back to the marsh where the Swamp Palace was. Link placed the bomb in front of the large boulder and tossed his boomerang at it. The bomb exploded, opening the way to the Swamp Palace. He was just about to enter until he felt the familiar telepathic presence of Hilda. "_Hello again, Hero of Hyrule._" she greeted.

"Princess Hilda. What is it?" Link asked.

"_You have made it to the Swamp Palace_." Hilda replied. "_Here you will find a sage in need of your help. But I must also warn you that the palace is submerged in water. Currently, it would be near impossible for you to reach the sage. That is why I wish to bestow you with a gift._" Link then found himself enveloped in a blue light. When the light faded, Link found himself dressed in a blue tunic with yellow sleeves. "Thanks, but what's this for?" he asked.

"_When used in conjunction with your Zora flippers, this tunic will help you breathe underwater_." Hilda replied. "_Also, it makes you more resilient to damage. It should prove adequate enough to help you reach the sage_. _Please, hurry. So say I, Hilda of Lorule_." Her presence then faded, leaving Link alone once again. "Man, she's hard to have a conversation with." Link said to himself as he entered the palace. The palace interior was decorated with all kinds of carvings depicting underwater life. In the middle of the room, Link saw a circular pool filled with water. Link took a deep breath and dived into the pool.

As soon as he was submerged in the water, a large bubble formed around his head. Link breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see the tunic worked as advertised. He then began to swim through the tunnel, weaving through all the twists and turns as he made his way to the center of the palace. The only obstacles he had to worry about were the occasional jellyfish. Link couldn't fight underwater, so he did his best to avoid being electrocuted. Eventually, he managed to make his way to the center of the palace and came up for air.

The room he found himself in was surprisingly empty. The floor was filled with shallow water. Link drew his sword and prepared himself for anything. What he _wasn't_ prepared for, however, were two yellow tentacles silently moving through the water behind him. The tentacles grabbed Link and hoisted him into the air. In a panic, Link reflexively sliced at the tentacles with his blade and fell to the ground. When he looked up, his eyes beheld the most hideous sight: It was a large, floating, orange jellyfish with a single gold eye and yellow tentacles. The creature silently floated to the ground before summoning several eyeballs in front of it to act as a shield.

Link charged at the aquatic beast and slashed at it with his sword, but the blow bounced off it. The monster fired off two of its eyeballs in retaliation. Link dodged the shots and fired an arrow at it, but again, it had no effect. He had to get rid of those eyeballs first, and he knew the perfect way. Link pulled out his hookshot and latched on to one of the eyes to pull it out. He then slashed away at it with his sword. He then repeated the process, pulling out and destroying each eye until the jellyfish was completely exposed.

The jellyfish then opened its single eye, its color becoming green. Link tried to attack it, only for it to leap into the air. It then attempted to squash Link from above. Link rolled out of the way and fired a sword beam at its eye. The beast screeched in pain before sending two more tentacles to grab Link. It wrapped its tentacles around him and charged them with electricity, electrocuting Link before slamming him around. It then threw Link to the ground as its eye began glowing. Link rolled out of the way as it fired several lasers from its eye, creating small explosions. Link fired an arrow directly at the monster's eye, blinding it and allowing Link to furiously attack it with his hammer.

Eventually, Link managed to bring the monster to the ground. He then leapt in the air and impaled the beast's eye with his sword. The monster screamed and writhed in agony before finally exploding in a flash of light. Link sheathed his sword and breathed another sigh of relief. "Now I remember why I don't like seafood." he said. A hole in the wall then opened up and Link went through it. In the next room, he found the portrait of Oren, the queen of the Zoras. He touched the painting and the two of them were transported to the same dimension where the other three sages were.

"Where am I?" Oren asked as she looked around. "How did I get here?"

"That was me." Link replied. "Yuga captured you, but I managed to rescue you... again." Oren chuckled and gave a smile. "So once more you have come to my rescue. I almost feel like you're my personal knight in shining armor." she said. "We really have to stop meeting like this. How I wish I could give you something to repay your kindness and bravery- something to calm the troubled waters of your perilous journey. But alas, I'm afraid I can only give you my deepest gratitude...and yet another task, I'm afraid. You must rescue all of the Seven Sages. Only together can we hope to defeat this great evil."

"You can count on me!" Link said as he went to the glowing triangle in the center of the platform and was teleported back to the entrance of the Swamp Palace. "_Hello, Hero of Hyrule._" Hilda greeted. "_I assume you were successful?_"

"Yep!" Link proclaimed. "That's four sages down, three to go!"

"_I'm quite glad_." Hilda said. "_The next sage is located in a place known as Skull Woods_."

"That sounds like the Lost Woods in Hyrule." Link replied. "I'm on my way. By the way, have you found Zelda yet?"

"_I have not_." Hilda replied. "_But rest assured, I am working diligently and will alert you when I find her._"

"Okay. Thanks anyway." Link replied as he made his way to the nearest rift back to Hyrule.

* * *

**Meanwhile, in Lorule Castle...**

After her talk with Link. Hilda went back to the throne room where the painting of Zelda was. Despite her outwardly stoic demeanor, she was actually happy for once. The young hero had proven to be a valuable asset. He had already rescued four of the seven sages! With only three remaining, she was this close to seeing Lorule reborn again! It would all come to fruition soon. Just a little bit longer and the perpetual nightmare Lorule found itself in would be all over.

"Oh, lovely Zelda." She began, her voice growing excited. "Can you even begin to comprehend how lucky you are? Such legends! Such heroes!" She then lowered her head sadly. "_We_ had legends. _We_ had heroes. Lorule had hope. But alas, all that is gone now. Lorule has only me now. And _your_ hero of course. And I must say, he is turning out to be a fine hero indeed. But if the Hero of Hyrule fails me...?" she paused to think on the grim possibility that Link would fail before she shook off the thought. "Oh, but I must have courage! He will succeed, or all is lost..."

* * *

**Alright! That's another chapter down. There are probably four to five chapters left! We're almost done with this story! Stay tuned for the next one. **


	17. Chapter 17: The Sinister Skull Woods!

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on _A Link Between Worlds._ After rescuing Gulley from the Dark Palace, Link raced to Hyrule to tell Ienzo and Madison the good news. After that, Link headed to the Swamp Palace to find the next sage-which turned out to be the Zora Queen Oren. With her rescued, Link now must set off for the Skull Woods to find the next sage.**

**OOC: Heads up, guys. First off, sorry this chapter took so long. Second, there's a slight change of plans. With September 26 right around the corner and at the rate I'm going, I don't think I'll have time to do the Twilight Princess novelization because I really want to do the Hyrule Warriors novelization. So, once I'm done with this story, I'll skip straight to the Hyrule Warriors novelization and do the Twilight Princess story after that. Just thought I'd let you know. **

"...And that's pretty much it." Link said as he finished his explanation of what happened to Queen Oren to the Zoras. The fish people listened in amazment to Link's tale, relief washing over them to find that their beloved monarch was unharmed. "Well, it was no secret that our queen was a descendant of the Seven Sages." one Zora said. "But, if it's not too much to ask, where is our queen now?"

"Well... she can't really come home yet because I need her help with something." Link replied. "I can't really go into details."

"I see." The Zora replied. "Well, if she's in your hands, then at least we know she's safe. Regardless, know that the Zora will be forever indebted to you for your service, young man. We'd love to reward you, but sadly we have nothing to give."

"That's okay." Link replied. "I'm just glad I could help. Well, I have to go. Just thought I'd come give you the good news."

"And it is good news indeed!" The Zora said. "Take care, young lad! And best of luck to you!" Link walked out of the cave and summoned Irene's broom to fly him over to the Sanctuary. Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked to the door. But the moment he got there, he froze. His legs and arms refused to move even a single step further. After several minutes of just standing there and staring at the door, Link turned to walk away. It was a ritual he did from time to time. Ever since this whole mess started at the Sanctuary, he'd been trying to work up the nerve to check on Priest Marcus. But every time he did, the lingering guilt he felt for not saving Seres would creep in and stop him in his tracks.

He went on the broom and flew over to Sahasrahla's house. He hadn't visited the elder in awhile and Link figured he could use a status update on his progress. He walked into the house to see Sahasrahla reading a book. "Oh, hello Link." the elder greeted. "Nice to see you're okay. How goes your quest?"

"It's going great!" Link replied. "I've managed to rescue four of them so far."

"Wondrous news indeed!" Sahasrahla exclaimed. "I've no doubt you'll find them all eventually. But... what of the princess?"

"Princess Hilda still hasn't found her." Link sadly replied.

"Fret not, lad." Sahasrahla said. "I'm sure you'll find her. But again, don't you think it's quite strange that she knows the locations of all of the sages, yet not of our fair princess?" Link paused a bit to think on the elder's words. "Now that you mention it... it _is_ a little strange." Link replied. "But I really don't think Princess Hilda would lie to me."

"How can you be so sure?" Sahasrahla asked. "Don't you find it peculiar that she just suddenly appeared to save you from the brink of death? That and what do you know of her? Or her motivations?"

"Not much. She said that she couldn't stop Yuga from coming here, so perhaps this is her way of making up for it." Link replied. "But I'm sure she has her reasons for helping me."

"As do I, my boy. But as I said, things aren't always what they appear." Sahasrahla replied. "Just make sure they are good reasons."

"I'll keep it in mind." Link replied. "Thanks for the advice." He then left the house to think on the elder's words. Sahasrahla did have a point. What other motivation could the princess have for helping him? In fact, why _did_ she help him? And how come she couldn't find Princess Zelda when she could easily find the other sages? These questions and more swirled around in Link's head. But one things for certain: he wouldn't find the answer just sitting around. He had to find the next sage. He was about to make his way to the Lost Woods when he saw a rift to Lorule behind Sahasrahla's house. Perhaps he could get to the Skull Woods from there.

Link entered the rift and found himself back in Lorule. And more specifically, in the other part of Thieves Town. There, the telepathic voice of Hilda greeted him yet again. "_Hello again, young hero._" Hilda said. "_You are in the area where the Skull Woods strike fear into the hearts of the living. Not that there are many who live here for long. Within the woods are beings no longer of this world. Some have even claimed that the woods are haunted. But brave them you must, if you are to recover a Sage who is pure of heart. Gather your courage. So say I, Hilda of Lorule._"

The telepathic presence faded yet again, leaving Link alone. Link made his way into the forest. He followed along the path until he saw a large skull-shaped cave. Next to the cave was a sign that read. "Unspeakable horrors ahead! Abandon all hope ye who enter here". "Well, that's a cheery entrance." Link mused to himself. He took a deep breath and entered the cave. It was truly a hellish sight: bones and other skeletons littered the floor and decorated the walls. There were bloodstains here and their, possibly the blood of others who were foolish enough to enter the woods. Link did his best to shake off the gruesome image and moved on.

He walked down the hallway and went down the stairs, but when he entered the next room, he was menaced by a strange hand-shaped shadow. Link didn't even have time to look up before the hand descended on him. Link gave out muffled screams as the hand dragged him back outside the cave entrance. "Okay... that was weird." Link said, making a mental note to avoid the hand. He entered the cave again and made his way through the hall and down the stairs. Again, he found himself followed by the hand. When it slammed the ground to capture him again, Link stabbed the hand with his sword. The hand made a hollow scream and retreated into the darkness of the ceiling.

With a confident smile, Link headed for the door. But on the way, he stepped on a switch. That caused two sections of the wall to crash together in an attempt to crush Link in between. Link manged to roll out of the way in time, but no sooner when he landed, the floor opened up into a large pit filled with spikes. Link reflexively pulled out his Hookshot and grappled a nearby statue to pull himself out of the pit. At that moment, a trio of Beamos appeared and opened fire on him. Link blocked their beams with his shield and made a run for the door.

The next room he found himself in was essentially a large pit of what appeared to be quicksand. Link used his Sand Rod and created a bridge to traverse the gap. He went down another flight of stairs to the next room. This room was filled with rows of coffins. Link took out his Fire Rod and cautiously moved forward, but he didn't get far before the doors locked themselves and the coffins opened and he found himself surrounded by multiple Gibidos. Link fired several fireballs at the Gibidos, reducing them all to ashes. With them gone, the doors opened and he made his way down another flight of stairs.

This room seemed to be normal for the most part. The only odd thing about it was the cracks on the floor. Link was about to walk until he saw the shadow of the hand again. Link rolled out of the way as the hand crashed the ground. But when he landed on the cracked portion of the ground, the floor gave way and he nearly fell into an abyss had he not used his Tornado Rod. But Link had little time to relax as the hand dove for him again. Link manged to dodge it and luckily didn't land on a cracked portion of the floor. And so began a strange dance of Link dodging the hand while avoiding landing on the cracked portions of the floor.

Link eventually managed to chase the hand off by tossing a bomb at it, forcing it to retreat into the ceiling. With it gone, Link made his way to the next room. When he went inside, the door locked him in. Link pulled out his sword and scanned the room, looking for any traps that lay in wait. He took two cautious steps forward and soon found himself stalked by another shadow. Only this one wasn't in the shape of a hand... it was in the shape of a moth. Link looked up to see a large moth flying towards him. The moth was black with six legs and a cycloptic yellow eye and large mandibles. It's antennae were blue and resembled feathers. Its abdomen was a pale blue and its wings were large and had many bright colors-colors that contrasted the viciousness it exuded.

Without warning, the moth dove at Link. Link rolled out of the way and fired several arrows at it in return, but the moth skillfully dodged each one with artful flying. It then used its wings to stir up mighty tornadoes. Link avoided the whirlwinds and tossed a few bombs at it. The moth blew the bombs away with another gust of wind and made another dive for Link. Link took out his Fire Rod and shot a blast of flame directly at the creature. The moth screeched and writhed in pain as its wings burned up. Link then fired an arrow into its eye, silencing the insect. With it gone, the door opened up to another flight of stairs.

With sword and shield in hand, Link cautiously walked down the stairs. When he made it to the next room, the door unsurprisingly slammed shut behind him. But after going through several floors of deadly traps, Link wasn't taking chances. He started to the center of the room only to stop when he saw the familiar hand-shaped shadow. Link groaned in annoyance, thinking it was the same hand from before, but what appeared was most definitely _not_ the same hand. This hand was pink and had metal armor around it, making it resemble a living gauntlet. Its most unsettling feature was the eye in its palm.

The Knucklemaster saw Link and attempted to smash into him. Link rolled out of the way and retaliated with a few slashes, but the armor deflected all of his blows. The Knucklemaster backhanded Link into the wall and attempted to punch him. Link merged into the wall as the hand crashed into. Stunned by the blow, the Knucklemaster fell to the ground, exposing its eye. Link emerged out the wall and repeatedly slashed its eye. The monster eventually recovered and flew to the ceiling before attempting to smash Link under it again. Link fired an arrow into its eye as it neared the ground. The monster roared and crashed into the wall, falling to the ground again.

Link ran to it and slashed at its eye several more times. The hand recovered and attempted to swipe Link again. Link avoided the swipe and leapt onto it, hanging on to its finger as it flew around the room in an attempt to shake him off. It then attempted to crash into the wall one last time only for Link to leap off at the last second, stunning it and leaving its eye vulnerable. Link leaped into the air and stabbed the eye with his sword. The monster howled in pain before finally dying in a flash of light. "Well, I _handled_ that pretty well." Link chuckled flatly. It didn't sound that funny.

With the Knucklemaster gone, the wall opened up to reveal a flight of stairs leading upward. He went up the stairs and found himself back in Skull Woods. He also found himself staring face-to-face with an unexpected, but welcome surprise: It was the portrait of Seres, Priest Marcus's daughter! Link jumped for joy when he saw the painting, relieved to have finally found Seres. Link touched the painting and the two of them were transported to the same dimension where the other sages were.

Seres emerged from a diamond. She looked around to find herself in the presence of the other sages and gave a small smile. "Ah, I see... My little friend from the Sanctuary. You came to my rescue, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am." Link replied. "Consider it my way of making up for not saving you at the Sanctuary."

"You needn't blame yourself, Link. You did the best you could." Seres said. "Bless your goodness. How strong you must have gotten since then! But it seems you have still further to go. You must save all Seven Sages. Please rescue us all or peace may never return to Hyrule."

"You can count on it!" Link boldly declared.

"Before you go, I have one other request." Seres began. "Could you please tell my father I'm okay. I can only imagine how worried he must be since this whole debacle."

"Don't worry, I was heading there next." Link replied.

"Thank you, my friend." Seres said. "Best of luck to you!" Link stepped on the triangle in the center of the platform and raised his sword in the air. He was then transported back to the entrance of Skull Woods. "_Hello, Hero of Hyrule._" Hilda greeted. "_It is nice to see you're still among the living. Was your excursion successful?_"

"Sure was!" Link replied. "Only two sages left!"

"Joyous news!" Hilda said. "You are doing splendid! It would seem destiny has guided you here. The next sage is in a fiery domain called Turtle Rock. Go now, Link."

"I'm on it!" And Link made his way for the nearest dimensional rift to Hyrule.

* * *

**Finally got this chapter done! Almost done with this story! Stay tuned for the next one!**


	18. Chapter 18: Into The Inferno

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Having rescued Queen Oren from the Swamp Palace, Link set off to the sinister Skull Woods to locate the next Sage. The woods were haunted and filled with otherworldly beings and deadly traps. But Link braved through it all and managed to rescue Seres. With another sage taken out of harms way, Link now must venture to Turtle Rock to find one of the last two sages****.**

Here he was again, at that same door.

Link was once again outside the Sanctuary's door. Ever since this whole mess started, he had always wanted to visit Priest Marcus to see how he was doing. But every time he did, the guilt he felt from not saving Seres earlier would pull him away. But this time would be different. _This time_, nothing would stop him. He walked up to the door and entered the Sancutary to find Priest Marcus kneeling down in front of the altar. Ever since Seres was kidnapped, Marcus would go to the altar and pray to the gods for her safe return. While he didn't suffer any lasting physical injuries, everyone could plainly see the emotional pain he was enduring.

Link walked up to the priest and called out, "Hello? Priest Marcus?" Marcus turned around to see Link behind him. "Oh Link." he greeted. "Forgive me, my boy. I didn't hear you come in."

"What are you doing?" Link asked.

"Oh, merely the same thing I've been doing every hour." Marcus sorrowfully replied. "Praying for Seres to come back." He then looked up to the altar with the same mournful expression. "Tell me, Link. What sort of demon would take away an innocent child like Seres? I blame myself. I wasn't a stronger parent. Had I only acted sooner, maybe offered some sort of bargain Seres would still be here. Now all I can do is pray that she is okay. But is it enough? Is praying all I can do? Gods! I feel so useless! This may sound disingenuous to say, but I feel like they're not answering my prayers. Am I wrong Link? Is it wrong to give up hope?"

"In this case, it would be." Link replied with a beaming smile. "Because I have good news. I found Seres!" Marcus stared at Link in amazement for a few moments, tears welling up in his eyes. "You've found her?!" he asked. "W-well where is she?!"

"About that..." Link began. "You know Seres is a sage, right? Well, I managed to rescue her, but she can't leave just yet because I need her help for something. Something very important. But you don't have to worry. She's safe now. That I promise. In fact, she wanted me to tell you she was okay." Marcus stared at Link as the boy gave his explanation. "Well, I can't claim to know exactly what's going on, but as long as she's safe, that's all that matters." he replied. "But mere words cannot describe the depths of my gratitude, Link. You deserve to be knighted."

"That's okay." Link replied. "I'm just glad I could help. It's... the least I could do since I couldn't help earlier."

"Oh, my boy. You shouldn't blame yourself. You did the best you could." Marcus replied.

"Yeah... but if I can't blame myself, then you shouldn't blame yourself." Link said. Marcus paused to stare at Link before he broke out laughing. "I guess we're both guilty of that." he chuckled. "But you're right. I should stop wallowing in misery. Seres wouldn't want to see me like this. I thank you, Link. You really know how to lift an old man's spirits."

"Like I said, it's the least I could do." Link replied. "I have to go now. Nice to see you're okay, Priest."

"Take care, Link." Marcus replied. "I pray the goddesses protect you on your journey." And with that, Link left the Sanctuary. Outside, he took a much needed sigh of relief, almost as if a great weight was lifted off his tired shoulders. But there was no time to relax just yet, not when there was still work to be done. He took out his maps of both Hyrule and Lorule as he done before. Whenever he rescued a sage, he would erase the mark to keep track of who was left. He laid them out side by side and compared the two. Hilda said the next sage was in Turtle Rock. So in Hyrule, Turtle Rock would be where the House of Gales was.

With that in mind, Link summoned Irene's broom again and flew towards the House of Gales. From there, he made his way past the nearby shop, and wall merged to reach a nearby rift. He went through the rift to enter Lorule once again, where he was again greeted by Hilda's telepathic voice. "_We meet once more, Hero of Hyrule_." she began. "Not far from here is Turtle Rock, a maze built to contain the power of fire. You must find a way to control the flames. _I also sense a strong presence in this vicinity. No doubt it is a Sage. But, in your current state, there would be no way to enter Turtle Rock. The flames would burn you to cinders. Thus, I bestow upon you one final gift._"

A flash of light briefly enveloped Link and when it faded, he found himself in dressed in a red tunic with green sleeves. "_This tunic should offer protection against the sweltering heat of Turtle Rock_." Hilda said. "_This is all I can do for you. Go now. Only you can help. So say I, Hilda of Lorule._" And with that, the telepathic presence faded yet again. "Well, good thing I've got an Ice Rod." Link said. He looked to see a large temple in the center of the lake. The roof of it had hexagonal tiles made to resemble the shell of a turtle. From where Link was, there was no way he could get in. He then jumped off the ledge and turned to find a large turtle turned over on the back of its shell. But what happened next was highly unexpected. The turtle looked at Link with pleading eyes and... spoke! In plain English, it said: "Hey, you there! C'mon! Be a pal and help me!"

Link did a double take when it spoke to him, but he quickly shook it off to help the poor animal. Thanks to his Titan Mitts, it was a simple matter of picking the Turtle up and tossing him into the water. "Thanks!" The turtle said. "Oh, that was just horrifying! I couldn't roll back over! Hope my mom isn't too worried about me! Say, my brothers are lost as well. Think you can find them for me?"

"Consider it done!" Link replied.

"Thanks!" The turtle said as it swam away. Link dived into the water and swam up north only to come across another large turtle. This one was under attack by three fish-like monsters that spat fireballs at it, forcing the amphibian to hide in its shell for protection. Link jumped out of the water and landed on the turtle's back before firing arrows at the monsters, killing them all with ease. He hopped off the turtle as it hopped into the water. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The turtle said. "That was so terrifying! I didn't know what I was going to do!"

"You're welcome. Now get to your mom!" Link said.

"Don't have to tell me twice." The turtle replied as it swam away. Link looked up to see a turtle stuck on the wall. He climbed out of the water on a ladder and wall merged to reach the turtle. He then reemerged from the wall and knocked the turtle into the water. "Oh Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the turtle said. "That wall was really sticky and wouldn't let me go!" It then swam off towards a large rock along with the two other turtles. The rock then revealed itself to be an even larger turtle, presumably the mother.

"You found all of my babies!" The Mother Turtle said. "Thank you so much! I'm sorry I don't have anything to offer as a reward. But if you need a lift anywhere, just let me know."

"Actually, could you get me to Turtle Rock?" Link asked. "There's something in there I need to get."

"Turtle Rock?!" The Mother Turtle asked, astonished. "But that place will melt you to a crisp! Are you sure?"

"Don't worry. I'll be okay." Link assured her. "It's really important I get there."

"Well... okay." the turtle replied hesitantly. "Hop on!" Link climbed on to the turtle's back and she carried him all the way to the entrance of Turtle Rock. "Okay, this is as far as I can take you. Sure you'll be okay?" She asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Link replied.

"Okay, good luck kid!" The turtle said as it swam away with her children in tow. Link turned to see two pillars of fire blocking the entrance. He used his Ice Rod to douse the flames and entered Turtle Rock. There, he was greeted by Hilda once again. "_I see you have entered Turtle Rock._" she said. "_But before you proceed further, I must warn you that the place is a crisscrossing maze of molten caverns and passageways. Those who have ventured here have either been lost in the caverns or succumbed to the blazing heat and their uncontrollable thirst._"

"Well... how am I supposed to get through?" Link asked.

"_I believe your sword can help_." Hilda said. "_By focusing on the Sages, the sword can act as a bit of a compass._"

"But... I'm not really good at magic." Link said.

"_Have courage, Hero. I am confident you can. You must save the sages. So say I, Hilda of Lorule_." Hilda said as her telepathic presence faded. "Well, better give it my best shot." Link took out his lantern and he began to walk down the cavern. Eventually, he reached a fork in the road leading to two tunnels. "Here goes nothing." Link unsheathed the Golden Sword and held it out in front of him. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes to concentrate. He slowly moved the sword from the left corridor to the right. Upon pointing to the corridor on the right, the sword began to glow.

With blade in hand, Link followed the corridor on the right for awhile until he was at another fork in the road. Repeating his strategy, Link extended the sword outward and slowly pointed at each passageway. When he pointed at the passage on the left, the sword shined once again. Link traveled through the left corridor. And from there, it was a constant pattern of using his sword to light the way, going through different corridors. Link felt as though he was travelling through the center of the earth itself.

For the most part, the trip was rather leisurely, with only a few fire monsters such as Wizzrobes impeding him... until Link heard a thunderous rumble. At that point, Link turned around to see lava rushing at him! The youth screamed and ran for his life, letting the Golden Sword guide him. After a chase that seemed to last for hours, Link eventually reached what appeared to be the very center of Turtle Rock. He then used his Ice Rod on the lava floe behind him, freezing it solid. The room was essentially a lake of lava with a metal platform in the center of it. Link walked on the bridge to the platform, but once he got there, the bridge sank into the lava.

Also, Link could see something swimming in the lava as well. It looked like a moving boulder with a hole on the top. Just then, lava erupted out of the opening in the boulder as it swam straight towards Link. Link ran to avoid the erupting lava. Eventually, it stopped for awhile, giving Link a chance to think of a strategy. It was when he saw the gaps in the platform did he get an idea. He took out his Ice Rod and fired a blast of ice through the gaps at the living boulder, briefly freezing it solid. The boulder seemed to screech in pain when that happened. Link repeated his strategy, attacking the monster every chance he got.

Eventually, the monster had enough and leaped out of the lava lake, revealing itself to be a large turtle-like rock monster. The beast roared and extended its neck to attack Link with a bite. Link rolled out of the way and slashed at the monster's face with his Golden Sword. The creature retreated into its shell and rapidly spun around, attempting to knock Link into the lava. Link deftly maneuvered around the monster and waited for it to reveal its vulnerable head before attacking once more with rapid slashes. The turtle golem retreated into its shell once more, but this time unleashed a violent explosion that knocked Link to the edge of the platform.

The monster then breathed a torrent of flames at Link, but the hero rolled out of the way. He took out his Ice Rod and shot another blast of ice at the monster, freezing its head solid. He then leapt into the air and smashed the head with his Hammer, decapitating the beast. The monster gave out one final screech of pain before exploding in a flash of light. Link put away his weapons as a portrait of one of the sages appeared. This one was the portrait of Impa. Link touched the portrait and both he and Impa were instantly teleported to where the other sages were.

"Ah yes, Link... Here you are." Impa said.

"Hello Impa. It's nice to see you again." Link replied.

"I shouldn't have doubted the princess for a moment." Impa replied with a smile. "You _are_ the hero of our time. And what a splendid hero you make. You've endured so much to get this far. Yet as Hyrule is facing the same threat as it did in the legend of old, you have so much more to endure. You must find the final Sage. Once we have been united, we will help you do what that hero of legend did so long ago. So please, make haste and find the rest of us."

"Don't worry, I will." Link replied.

"Also, what of the princess?" Impa asked. "Have you seen her?"

"No." Link replied sadly. "I haven't."

"Well, don't worry. I've every confidence you will find her." Impa said. "Now hurry, boy. Time is of the essence." And with that Link stepped onto the glowing blue triangle and was transported back in front of Turtle Rock. "_Greetings, Hero of Hyrule_." came the much more enthusiastic telepathic greeting from Hilda. "_I trust you were __successful?_" Hilda asked. "Yep! That's another sage down. Only one more to go!"

"_Joyous news!_" Hilda replied. "_You'll find the final sage at the Ice Ruins in the mountains. Make haste! We may yet be able to defeat Yuga!_" Her telepathic presence then faded, leaving Link alone with his thoughts. As much as he should be happy that his journey was nearly over. There was still something gnawing at him: Where was Princess Zelda? He had managed to rescue six of the Seven Sages, but still she was nowhere to be found. Where could she be? There wasn't that many places in Lorule to look. The only two would be the Ice Ruins or Lorule Castle.

But when his thoughts centered on Lorule Castle, Sahasrahla's words came flooding back to his mind. The words of warning about Princess Hilda. "No way..." Link trailed off. Certainly Hilda wouldn't lie to him. But still, he did find it weird how Hilda knew where every sage was, yet had trouble locating Zelda. But there was no way Hilda would just lie to him like that. Link paused to think for a good while. Then he made a decision. If Zelda wasn't with the final sage, then his suspicions would be confirmed.

With that in mind, Link set off for the nearest rift back to Hyrule.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, at Lorule Castle...**_

Hilda was with the portrait of Zelda, sipping apple cider. To say she was pleased wouldn't even begin to describe it. She was downright elated! Nearly one sage remained. Link was coming along splendidly! Soon, the culmination of all her hard work and effort would finally be realized! Now she hoped she could keep up the charade until the time was right. "Oh, lovely Zelda. Can you sense it?" She asked. "Our brave hero almost has the Trifforce of Courage. Lorule will be saved! Thanks to him. And one princess to another..."

"She stopped to take another sip of her cider. "...I can't tell you how grateful I am. I know it must be uncomfortable in that painting, but just try to hold on a bit longer. It will all be over soon." Hilda raised her glass into the air. "Here's to the rebirth of Lorule!" She then took another sip of her cider.

* * *

**Finally got this chapter done. About 3 chapters left! Stay tuned!**


	19. Chapter 19: Heart of Ice

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds: After a much needed and long overdue talk with Priest Marcus, Link traveled Lorule to explore the sweltering depths of Turtle Rock to recover the next sage, which turned out to be Impa. With six of the Seven Sages safely out of harms way, Link now must travel to the Ice Ruins to find the final sage.**

Upon arriving back in Hyrule, Link wasted no time in taking out his bell and summoning Irene's broom to fly him over to Death Mountain. He had already checked the maps to see where he had to go. And besides, there was just one sage left. The broom dropped him off in front of the Tower of Hera. From there, Link made his way to the tunnel that led to Rosso's Ore Mine. Link went through the tunnel and found himself in a large room with a lava pit. The only footholds were the moving platforms. Timing it carefully to avoid falling in lava, Link jumped from platform to platform until he made it to the center of the room.

Link then merged with the wall to his left and made it to another set of moving platforms. Link once more hopped from platform to platform until he made it to the bottom of the room, where he left out the door. Having made it to the ore mine, Link looked around until he saw a rift to Lorule on a nearby wall. Link used his wall merge and entered the rift to Lorule. He found himself in Death Mountain, only this time he found it snowing. "_Hello again, Hero of Hyrule._" Hilda greeted. "_As it is in your world, this is Death Mountain. Unlike your world, here it is locked in eternal winter. But do not fear, your tunic not only protects you from heat, but it should keep you warm in this frigid temperature. Likewise, you will need an item that can manipulate fire to progress through the area. Somewhere buried under the ice is a ruined hall. A Sage with a soul as formidable as a boulder awaits your help there. You must hurry, though... His spirit will not last forever with such accursed ice everywhere. So say I, Hilda of Lorule_."

So Rosso was here, but still no Princess Zelda. Link could only hope Hilda just couldn't sense her. Link made his way through the snow-covered mountaintop, dispatching any Tekkikes that got in his way until he saw a sign near a door that read: "_Oh, a dire fate awaits those who approach the Ice Ruins atop the mountain's peak._" Undeterred, he went through the door and the room he found himself was mostly a bottomless pit thin moving platforms. Link carefully navigated the platforms, avoiding the spiked traps and using his wall merge when needed until he reached a platform of ice with an ice Gargoyle on it. As soon as he moved near it, the gargoyle came to life and tried to attack him. Link used his Fire Rod and the gargoyle melted into nothing.

Link then went through a second set of moving platforms that created a makeshift bridge. Link carefully made his way across, avoiding the spiked traps that littered it until he made it to the door and left the cave. Now outside, Link saw a sign that said he was near the Ice Ruins. Link went to his right and eventually made it to the Ice Ruins. He used his Fire Rod to melt the ice gargoyle blocking the entrance and forged on. The first room he found himself in had a statue of a creature with its tongue sticking out. Link pulled on it and two platforms in the center of the room began moving. He hopped on the platform and rode it down to the next room.

The room was surprisingly empty for the most part. The only noticeable objects in the room were the six colored icicles in the center of the room. One was white, another was blue, the other was red, the next was green, another yellow, and the last was purple. There was a sign next to them that said: "_Find the rhythm of the ice to escape the freeze._" Link tapped the icicle in front of him and it gave off a rhythmic sound. Link tossed a boomerang at one of the icicles and it gave a different sound. That unfortunately caused a blast of icy wind to blow in from a mouth on the wall, nearly freezing Link solid. So it seemed he would have to match the rhythm of the icicle to escape.

Link hit the white icicle to listen to the rhythm, then took out his nice boomerang, which split into separate boomerangs to hit all the icicles simultaneously. Link dodged the blasts of ice, but the door did manage to open. He ran down the flight of stairs into the next room only for the door to lock behind him. He found himself surrounded by several mini Freezards, creatures born from ice. Link used his Fire Rod and dispatched them all effortlessly. With them gone, the door opened and Link ran down another flight of stairs to the next room.

This room was infested with ten larger Freezards. The monsters closed in on him and attempted to entomb him in ice with their frosty breath. Link dodged their arctic blasts and dispatched each one with a blast from the Fire Rod. After defeating each one, the door opened to reveal another flight of stairs. Link went down into the next room. This room was empty and the floor was made of solid ice. Next to Link, there was a sign that read. "_Beware of thin ice! Slow and steady wins this race_."

Link took a deep breath and slowly made his way across the room, trying not to disturb the fragile ice floor. So far, he was doing good... at least until he got to the center of the room. That's when he suddenly sneezed. The sound was loud enough to cause several cracks in the ice floor. With the element of stealth gone, Link bolted to the door, holes appearing in the ice as he ran. He leapt through the door and into the next room as the door locked behind him. Link unsheathed his sword and scanned the room, looking for any hidden surprises. So far there was nothing.

But just as Link was about to relax, a swarm of Mini Freezard's appeared. But instead of attacking Link, they merged together to form a giant reptilian Freezard with five red eyes and large claws. The monster attempted to swipe at Link with its claws, but the young hero rolled out of harms way and attacked the monster with his Hammer, shattering the hand. The Freezard roared in pain and fired several ice shards from its other hand in retaliation. Link blocked the ice with his shield and tossed a bomb at the creature's hand, the explosion shattering the other hand. The monster roared and breathed a stream of ice from its mouth.

Link countered by unleashing a torrent of flame from his Fire Rod. The fire eventually overwhelmed the ice breath in the struggle and the creature gave one final, piteous screech of pain as the fire melted the monster to nothing. With the beast destroyed, A hole opened up in the floor which lead to a sort of ice slide. This looked like it led straight to the bottom of the ruins themselves. Getting creative, Link took off his shield and used it as a makeshift snowboard as he slid down the ice slide, navigating all the twists and turns while hooping and hollering all the way.

After a trip that seemed to last for hours, Link finally reached the bottom of the ruins. He found himself on a platform of ice with a large hexagonal hole in the center. Everything seemed quiet for the most part. But just when it seemed he had a moment to relax, Link found himself staring face to face with an orb of darkness. The orb then condensed into a swirling mass of darkness with a single eye. The creature the encased itself in a block of moving ice and immediately attacked Link with ice shards.

Link blocked the ice with his shield and retaliated with blasts of flame from his Fire Rod, melting the ice defending the creature. With it's protection gone, the monster hopped around the icy platform. Link pursued it and attacked relentlessly while trying to avoid falling off the platform. The monster eventually teleported to the center of the platform. It summoned another layer of ice around itself, this time surrounded by three floating orbs of ice. The orbs surrounded Link in a triangular pattern before firing off a wave of ice. Link managed to roll out of the way to avoid being frozen.

Link again opened fire on the monster with his Fire Rod, melting the ice protecting it. With the ice gone, Link attacked the beast once again with his blade. After a few hits, the monster teleported to the center of the platform again. Its single eye turned yellow and it summoned another mass of ice. This time, it also summoned two hands made of ice as well as its three floating orbs. The monster swiped at Link with its ice claws, but the Hero rolled out of the way and tried to fire off another blast of fire, only to be frozen solid by a blast of ice from one of the orbs.

With Link frozen, the monster attempted to punch Link off the platform, but the young hero broke out of the ice in time and avoided the blow. He threw a bomb at the ice claw, destroying it instantly. Enraged, the monster attempted to claw Link with its other hand only for him to fire a blast of flame and melt the hand. With little defense, Link fired more shots from his Fire Rod to melt the ice surrounding it. The monster tried to get away, but Link tossed a bomb to distract the monster, then leapt into the air to deliver the final blow to its eye. The beast screeched in pain before exploding in a flash of light.

With it gone, a bridge appeared and led to another room. Link ran across the bridge and found the portrait of Rosso the miner. He touched the Portrait and both he and Rosso were transported to the same dimension with the other Sages. "Well, just look at this." Rosso said. "Who would've thought I'd see _you_ here, Link?"

"Nice to see you too, Rosso." Link replied.

"Well, can't say I'm surprised to see me here either." Rosso said. "I've known for a long time that I was a Sage. Never told anyone though. It wasn't really a secret. I was just too busy mining all the time to mention it. Speaking of busy-now that all of us Seven Sages are here, we'd better get down to business! We can use our power to dig up that Triforce of Courage for you. You'll need it to defeat Yuga. So here you go, little guy. Take this and go save Hyrule!" The Sages then began to glow with bright light as they focused their powers to form the shape of a triangle in the sky. Eventually, the triangle took on a more physical form until it became a golden triangle that hovered in the air. The circles that the Sages stood on also began to rise until they formed a large staircase with the triangle on top.

Link started to climb up the stairs, meeting each of the sages. "You have my undying gratitude, young hero." Oren said. "You are truly among the best of your people. Now there is more for you to do, if I am to get back home to _my_ people. The Zoras are surely worried."

"You're looking more and more like a hero every step of the way!" Rosso said. "I couldn't be prouder of you, kid!"

"We have placed our full trust in you." Impa said. "Now onward and upward! Save the princess-and save Hyrule!"

"All right, Link..." Irene began with a slight blush on her face. "Come back safely, OK?"

"Don't worry." Link replied. "I will."

"Well done." Osfala said. "Given all that you accomplished, it's obvious why fate chose you to be our hero. Hmm. Honestly, as a Sage, I should have seen the greatness within you when we first met."

"You are Hyrule's greatest hero!" Seres exclaimed. "So, I begged the gods to favor you, Link!"

"Wow, I can't believe it Link!" Gulley said. "You saved every Sevensage! My papa can't call you lazy anymore! But I bet he will anyway!" With their words of encouragement guiding him on, Link climbed up the stairs until he reached the Triforce of Courage. Almost as if it was waiting for him, the golden object flew into his body. Link raised his sword in the air as he felt power surge through him. The Triforce of Courage was now emblazoned on the back of his left hand.

"You have obtained the power of the gods, Link." Impa said. "With it, you can stop the return of the Demon King-and thwart his evil ambitions! Now, hero, you must take the battle to Lorule Castle! There awaits the Demon King! May you and Princess Zelda survive the terrible trials ahead. Go now. Defeat this evil once and for all!" With the sages's encouragement and blessings, Link was transported back outside the Ice Ruins. So much happened so fast that Link had a lot to think about. But the most pressing matter on his mind was Princess Zelda.

Impa said that Yuga was at Lorule Castle. If he was there, then so was Princess Zelda. But then, how did Hilda not know that? She knew where every sage was in Lorule, yet she could not find Princess Zelda? So very confusing. But at that moment, Link's mind seemed to unearth a memory that had long buried itself in the chaos. Twice when kidnapping one of the Sages, Yuga mentioned someone named Her Grace and the front of his robe bore the crest of the Lorulean Royal family. Well, the only royalty in Lorule was Hilda. But if that was the case then... No! Impossible! It didn't make sense! Why would Hilda ally herself with Yuga? And if so, why did she save him earlier?

This was really getting confusing, and Link didn't want to believe that someone who had guided him so far would turn on him. But whether he wanted to believe it or not, he had to assume the worst. He rang the bell and summoned Irene's broom to fly him to Thieves's Town. As much as he wanted to go to Lorule Castle, that would have to wait.

He had to make one last visit.

* * *

_**Meanwhile In Hyrule...**_

After arriving in Hyrule, Link went to his house to find Ravio reclining on a chair. "Oh, hey Mr. Hero." Ravio said when he noticed Link approaching. "How goes the Hero buisness?"

"Great!" Link replied. "I managed to find all Seven Sages and..." He then showed Ravio the back of his hand which held the Triforce of Courage. "I even got the Triforce of Courage!" Ravio looked at Link in total amazement. "Wowie wow!" he exclaimed. "You really _are_ a hero! Not bad, Mr. Hero!"

"Thanks." Link said. "So how are you doing? Still haven't found a place to stay?"

"Nah." Ravio replied. "But you know something. I've been thinking. You know, whenever I used to just lounge around... I would think how I'm just a tiny speck in a great, big world. And I still believe that I'm a teeny, tiny, little speck in a world that's _so_ much bigger than I ever thought! But even a speck can change the world if he puts his heart into it. I've got a new outlook on life, and it's all thanks to you, Mr. Hero!"

"Really?" Link asked.

"Really!" Ravio replied. "For a long time, I believed that if you put your ear to the ground, you'd hear the world's heart beating. That the world just goes on living, whether you were there or not. Weird, right? And sorta sad. So I've been listening here for a while, and you know the only heart I've heard? Mine! I couldn't be happier. Ha! I've got a new outlook on life, and it's all thanks to you, Mr. Hero!"

"Well, that's good to hear!" Link said. "I have to go back to Lorule now. Princess Zelda's in the castle and she needs my help. So, in case something happens and I don't make it back, I just dropped by to say... thanks. If it wasn't for your gadgets, I don't think I would've even made it this far."

"Aw shucks, Mr. Hero!" Ravio replied. "You're gonna make me blush." He then shook Link's hand warmly. "Well, good luck Mr. Hero! Go save the world!"

"Thanks. I will!" Link replied as he left through the rift to Lorule on the front of his house. Once he was gone, Ravio turned to his bird Sheerow and said, "Well, our little hero has turned out quite nicely, eh Sheerow?" Sheerow chirped in agreement. "Well, we should get going as well." Ravio then picked up his bag and went on his way.

* * *

**Alright! Two chapters left! We're on a roll! The final battle begins tomorrow! Stay tuned and thanks to all who reviewed! **


	20. Chapter 20: The Fate of Two Worlds

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Link ventured to Lorule's Death Mountain and braved the frigid depths of the Ice Ruins to find the final Sage Rosso. With all Seven Sages reunited, they combined their powers to summon the Triforce of Courage. Now armed with the power of the gods, Link must now head to Lorule Castle for the final confrontation with Yuga in hopes of ending the madness forever.**

This was it. It all came down to this. Link had finally managed to rescue all Seven Sages. Now there was just one more person to save: Princess Zelda. As Link approached Lorule Castle, a twinge of anxiety took hold of him. His mind was flooded with questions and concerns. Could he defeat Yuga? Could he save Hyrule? Could he save Princess Zelda? Would he fail? He quickly shook the memories off. He couldn't fail. He wouldn't fail! Not when there was so much at stake!

Link made it to the front door of the castle where he found it was sealed by a magical barrier created by Hilda. That's when he heard the telepathic voice of Hilda. "_Can you hear me, Hero of Hyrule?_" she asked. "Yeah, I can hear you." Link replied.

"_I sense you have obtained the Triforce of Courage._" Hilda said. "_Good. You have arrived just in time. For Yuga has broken my bonds and his minions have invaded Lorule Castle! Allow me a moment to dispel the barrier protecting my castle and make haste, Link!_" Seconds later, the barrier dispelled and Link ran inside the castle. The young hero still had lingering concerns that Hilda was somehow working with Yuga, but if she was in danger, then Link had to help. It was a surprisingly morbid-looking castle for a princess. at the bottom of the room was a pool of lava. And above the pool was a large metal platform. "This place is creepy." Link said to himself.

Link went to the left and walked up the stairs up and went into the next room where he was locked in with a knight wielding a fiery Ball and Chain. The knight swung its chain at Link only for Link to roll out of the way and cut the chian, disarming the knight. He then leapt over and stabbed the knight, killing him instantly. With the knight defeated, the doors opened and Link went up the stairs to the second floor where he found himself back in the main room, but on the upper level. He went to the left and up the stairs until he was on the other side of the room.

But it was when he looked down did he see a truly astonishing sight. On the metal platform below was what was apparently the crest of the Lorulean Royal family, the same crest Yuga wore on his robe. That pretty much confirmed that Yuga worked in the royal family. But, could Princess Hilda truly be working with him? Or maybe Yuga had betrayed her? Either way, the answer wouldn't appear just by standing around. Link had to keep moving. He went through the door behind him and up to the third floor. He could see a large door across the room on the other side of the gap. Also, there were four smaller doors around the room with two on each side of the room.

Link walked up to the door to observe it and noticed strange markings on it. The markings resembled four of the many monsters he fought throughout his travels. Particularly Moldorm, A Ball and Chain Knight, a Gigabari, and Arrghus. It seemed that each marking matched a monster through one of the smaller doors in the room and Link would have to defeat all four monsters to progress through the door. Deciding to go in the order he fought each of them. He first went to the southwestern door and found himself sucked into a portal. Upon recovering, he found himself in a room with shifting walls and also found himself face-to-face with a large purple Moldorm.

The Moldorm spotted Link and immediately charged at him. Link rolled out of the way and attacked the monster's vulnerable tail. The insect swatted Link away with its tail, sending him into a wall. That gave Link an idea. The Moldorm charged at Link once more, but at the last second, he used his wall merge to meld into the wall, causing the Moldorm to crash into the wall and stun itself. With the monster distracted, Link seized the opportunity to deal more strikes to its tail. Thanks to the power of his Golden Sword, it fell with ease and exploded in a cloud of dark smoke.

With the Moldorm's defeat, a flash of bright light enveloped Link and he found himself transported back to the main room. On the large door, the marking of the Moldorm vanished. "One down, three to go." Link said. He proceeded to the Northwestern door and was sucked through another portal. There he found himself facing a Ball and Chain knight in black armor wielding a fiery flail. Without warning, the knight threw its flail at Link, but the hero blocked it with his shield. He then tossed a boomerang at the knight to stun it before assailing him with several slashes. The knight recovered and whacked Link with his flail, sending him backwards.

He tried to attack Link again, but Link caught the flail, his strength enhanced by the Titan Mitts. He then pulled the knight close to him and decapitated him with his sword. The knight died in a puff of black smoke. With him gone, Link was again transported back to the main room. The marking of the knight vanished. Link then went to the Northeastern door and was transported to a room where he faced a pink Gigabari. The Gigabari fired a lightning bolt at Link, but the young hero rolled out of the way and tossed a boomerang to stun it. He then charged at the beast and slashed at it multiple times.

Eventually, that caused the jellyfish to split into ten smaller versions of itself. The mini Baris circled Link and attempted to swarm him. Link, however, used a Great Spin Attack to destroy them all at once. Having defeated them, Link was teleported back to the main room and the marking of the Gigabari vanished. There was only one monster left to defeat. Link went to the Southeastern door and was transported to the same room where he fought Arrghus. As if one cue. Arrghus himself floated downward, surrounded by a shield of eyeballs.

Without hesitation, Link took out his hookshot and pulled each eyeball from the jellyfish and slew it with his sword. Arrgus attacked by firing its eyeballs at Link and tried to grab him with its tentacles. Link used his sword to beat back its attacks and destroyed each of its eyeballs. With its defense gone, its eye changed color and it leapt into the air to crush Link from above. Link rolled out of the way before it landed. The monster's eye began to glow as it prepared to fire its eye beam. Link quickly fired an arrow into its eye, causing the blast to backfire and grievously wound the beast. Seizing the moment, Link leapt into the air and stabbed the monster in its wounded eye, putting it out of its misery.

Having defeated Arrgus, Link was again transported back to the main room. The marking of Arrgus vanished on the door and with all four gatekeepers defeated, the door finally opened. Link walked up the stairs until he found himself in Hilda's chambers, the very place where he first entered Lorule. He went to the right and walked along the balcony before taking a left and stopping in front of the throne room. This was it, the point of no return. Zelda had to be here. Steeling himself for what was to come, Link drew the Master Sword and stepped into the room. There, he met a sight that confirmed every suspicion he had in one clawing stroke.

He saw Hilda with the portrait of Princess Zelda. Hilda raised her hand and the portrait began to glow. A second later, the Triforce of Wisdom emerged out of the portrait and landed in Hilda's hand. 'You have done well to come this far, Hero of Hyrule." Hilda said as she turned to look at him. "I trust you now have the Triforce of Courage?"

"And I see you have Princess Zelda." Link replied coldly.

"Having just figured that out?" Hilda asked.

"No. I figured it out a while ago." Link said. "You knew where all the Sages were, but you never said anything about Princess Zelda. So, she was either somewhere you couldn't find her, or you were lying to me. Guess it was the latter."

"I see. You are smarter than you appear." Hilda said.

"But that's not all I figured out." Link continued, pausing a bit. "I know you're behind this somehow."

"And your incontrovertible evidence?" Hilda asked coyly.

"The mark on Yuga's robe is the same as the crest of the Lorulean Royal Family." Link explained. "Also, he always mentioned someone named 'Her Grace'. Now, the only ruling monarch in this kingdom is you. So, you must have sent Yuga to Lorule to capture the sages." It was a heavy accusation, but Link felt he had enough facts to put it together. Hilda, however, remained silent as the boy laid out his charges, ever stone faced. After a while, she finally replied. "Guilty as charged. I did send Yuga to capture your Seven Sages."

"And then you had me rescue them." Link finished. "But now there's just one piece of the puzzle missing: _Why?_ Why did you do all of this? What's this all about? And what are you _really_ after?" At his question, Hilda gave a sorrowful sigh, almost as if there was a heavy load on her heart begging for release. "I suppose an explanation would be in order." Hilda replied. "You deserve that much. Like all stories, this one starts at the beginning. This is the tale of how Lorule fell to it's current condition. Long ago, Lorule was blessed by the gods with a golden power said to grant the wishes of any who touched it. It was called the Trifforce in my world as it is in yours. Many sought to possess the Triforce and as a result, Lorule was plunged into an endless war. To stop the bloodshed, my ancestors decided to get rid of the Triforce, destroying it utterly and completely."

"Wow.. that must have been hard." Link replied.

"Indeed." Hilda went on. "While the deed was done with good intentions, it had much dire and disastrous consequences. You see, the Triforce was not only the source of much peace in our world, but it was the very _foundation_ of our world. Without its protection, Lorule began to slowy rot away from the inside out, each passing year become more decayed and wretched until it became as you see it now."

"That's... really sad. I'm sorry." Link said.

"Yes." Hilda said, "I have spent years trying to find away to save my precious kingdom from its eventual destruction, but after many failures I was about to give up hope. So imagine my surprise when I discovered your world, Link. A world much like my kingdom of Lorule. And like Lorule, it had its own Triforce."

"So... you had Yuga come to Hyrule and kidnap the sages to free Ganon for the Triforce of Power and kidnap Zelda for the Trifrorce of Wisdom." Link began. "Then you had me rescue the sages so they could find the Triforce of Courage. All of this scheming just to save your kingdom?"

"Regrettably, yes." Hilda said as she closed her eyes with a resigned sigh. "Please understand that I take no pleasure in all that has transpired. I truly regret having to deceive you so thoroughly, but my kingdom... I... _we need_ a Triforce if Lorule is to be saved. Were there any other solution, I would have readily sought it out, but as the Princess of Lorule, I must save my people. So, I trust you'll understand when I say... _I must have your Triforce of Courage!_" At the moment she uttered that sentence, her eyes flew open with a glare that would strike fear in the hearts of the most stalwart warriors. It was a look that was one of chilling insanity.

Link flinched at the glare and readied his sword. Hilda tossed the Triforce of Wisdom in the air and it flew into her body. Now armed with the relic's power, she let out a maniacal laugh as her dark barriers spread along the walls and blocked the door. A portal soon materialized in the center of the room and from it slowly emerged the hideous, boar-like visage of Yuga, trident in hand. "Yuga! Seize the Triforce of Courage from him!" Hilda commanded. "Lorule shall be reborn!" With that, she teleported out of the room. Yuga reared back and let out a thunderous roar before attacking Link with his Trident.

Link backflipped out of the way and attempted to merge with the wall, only to be repelled by Hilda's barrier. "Guess there's no choice but to fight!" Link said. And with that, the battle began! Yuga attempted to swing his trident at Link again only for the hero to roll out of the way and attack Yuga from behind. Yuga roared in pain as the blade slit through his skin and teleported away. Link frantically looked around for Yuga, but was too late to notice that the sorcerer was right behind him. By the time he turned around, Yuga had swung his trident at Link, sending him flying to the wall.

As Link struggled to get up, Yuga's trident began to glow with dark energy and he thrusted it forward, unleashing a blast of darkness. Link managed to roll out of the way in time. Yuga then raised his trident to the sky as the tip of it glowed with more dark energy. It then fired off several dark lightning bolts around the room. With great agility, Link dodged the lightning bolts and repeatedly attacked Yuga until the monster was eventually forced to teleport away. Link didn't have much time to react as several orbs of dark energy fired themselves at him. All the young hero could do was roll out of the way.

Yuga then reappeared, his trident again glowing with dark energy as he threw it at Link like a boomerang. Link dodged the trident and attempted to attack Yuga only for the sorcerer to teleport away yet again, reappearing to grab his trident. That's when Link noticed a pattern. Link waited until Yuga tossed his trident again and ran across to slash away at him. And when Yuga grabbed his trident, he slashed away at him some more. Link repeated this strategy a few times until Yuga finally had enough and tried another lightning attack. Dodging the lightning strikes, Link took careful aim and fired an arrow at the jewel on Yuga's forehead. The blow disoriented the sorcerer enough for Link to slash at his face with his sword.

Yuga shouted in pain and fell over, his trident disappearing as he took a few deep breaths. At that moment, Hilda reentered the room through a portal. "Give me your Triforce of Power, Yuga!" she commanded. "We mustn't be defeated! If we are, Lorule shall be lost forever!" Yuga merely remained silent, not even turning to look at Hilda. "Come now, obey me!" Hilda demanded. "Give it to me at once!" At that command, Yuga let out a low throaty chuckle as her finally turned to look at her. "My dear, sweet deluded Hilda!" he began, his voice a mixture of both his and Ganon's. "What care have I to save your crumbling kingdom? It's no better than that hideous Hyrule."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Hilda asked, confused. "Cease this nonsense at once!"

"What I _mean_, my dear Hilda, is that when the Triforce is mine, I shall remake Lorule in _my_ image." Yuga sneered. "Now you, my dark beauty, must fulfill your purpose."

"H-h-how could you do this?" Hilda asked, stunned by the betrayal of what she thought was her most loyal servant. "With great satisfaction!" Yuga cackled as he fired a blast of magic from his hand. Hilda screamed as the magic enveloped her and she was transformed into a painting. Yuga looked at the portrait with perverse affection. "I can hardly decide which of my princess portraits is prettier." he mused. "But I _do_ know which of you foolish royal girls has what I need and now it shall be _mine!_"

He then spread his arms wide and absorbed the portrait of Hilda into his being, laughing maniacally as light enveloped him. When the light vanished, Yuga's appearance had altered radically. His skin had gone from a pale white to a dark purple with black marking spread across his skin. Spiked thorns had wrapped themselves around his wrists and waist. "I shall soon take my rightful place among the gods!" Yuga boasted. "And then my true work of art can begin-the art of destruction! The beauty of chaos shall rain down upon this land!"

"Not while I'm here!" Link declared, displaying the Triforce of Courage. Yuga glared at the boy and chuckled menacingly. "I'll be taking that last piece of the Triforce from you, worm!" he roared. "My, how far you've wriggled! But at last, you know your true destiny-to give me what's _mine!_" Dark energy gathered around Yuga as he rose into the air. The demonic sorcerer created a ball of dark energy in his hand and fired it at Link. Link rolled out of the way and the orb hit the wall, splitting into smaller orbs. Link tried to attack Yuga, but he flew far out of reach. He had to think of something! He then looked at the Master Sword in his hand. If it repels evil, then it might repel his attacks.

Yuga prepared another orb of dark energy and tossed it at Link. On instinct, Link swung his sword at the orb, sending it back at Yuga. Yuga backhanded the orb and sent it flying at Link again. From there it turned into a tennis match between the two of them, growing faster and faster until Link eventually won. The orb hit Yuga square in the chest, returning him back to his normal color scheme and sending him to the ground. Before Link could attack, Yuga recovered and retreated into the wall. Link was about to go after him until he heard Princess Zelda's voice yelling, "_Wait!_"

Link looked up to see that the portrait of Zelda was glowing. "_Can you hear me, Link?_" she asked. "_I'm afraid your weapons will be useless while Yuga is a painting. And so, I bestow upon you, my hero, one final gift._" A ball of light then appeared which soon manifested itself as a golden bow. "_Behold, the Arrows of Light!_" Zelda said. "_They have been infused with the light of the Trifrorce, but can only be fired when you are merged into the wall. Yuga cannot escape its radiance, not even in his painted form. Now, for the sake of both worlds, let fly these arrows and may your aim be true!_"

With the Light Arrows in hand, Link merged into the wall after Yuga. Yuga attempted to slash at Link with his claws, but Link emerged out of the walls and ran behind him. Before Yuga could turn around, Link had fired a Light Arrow into his back. Yuga roared in pain as the arrow's enchanted light seared through him and forced him out of the wall. As the sorcerer tried to recover, Link emerged from the wall and slashed away at him. Eventually, Yuga teleported away. Then, several portraits appeared on the wall.

"You insipid little runt!" Yuga shouted, his demonic voice echoing in the room. "You dare to challenge a god?! And you actually think you'll prevail! I've more power than you can ever dream!" At that point, several bats swarmed out of the portraits and flew around Link. Link swung his sword to fend off each of the bats. Eventually the swarm stopped and Yuga himself reappeared and tossed another ball of energy at Link. Link repeated his strategy and deflected the orb with his sword, initiating another tennis match between him and Yuga. Again, Yuga lost and was forced to retreat into the wall to recuperate.

Link merged into the wall after him and Yuga began to charge around the wall until he was behind Link. Link realized what he was trying to do and formed a strategy of his own. Yuga tried to charge at him, only for Link to emerge out of the wall and sneak behind him to fire a light arrow at him once more. Yuga was again forced out of the wall, allowing Link to attack him once more. Eventually, Yuga rose into the air again and glared at Link. "You pathetic cockroach!" he shouted. "You think you can defeat me?! You're nothing! You're an insect! A gadfly! Less than nothing! What makes you think you're some sort of hero?!"

"You just don't get it." Link said coldly.

"And what, exactly, _don't I understand?!_" Yuga roared.

"I never considered myself a hero." Link replied. "I always thought that heroes did everything right and made no mistakes. And I made too many mistakes to call myself a hero. I've learned that a fancy sword or special powers or other stuff doesn't make you a hero. It's just helping others and doing the right thing. That's all it takes. I'm not fighting you cause I think it'll make me a hero. I'm fighting you cause it's the right thing to do! Now, let's put an end to this!"

Yuga roared and tossed two dark energy orbs. Link swung his sword rapidly and deflected both of them, starting another tennis match between them. Despite the speed and intensity, Link managed to overpower Yuga once more, forcing him to retreat into the wall for safety. Link followed suit, but Yuga began to slowly back away from him, chuckling to himself. "Foolish brat. You think you can defeat me?" He muttered. "I'm the portrait of perfection. I'm power incarnate. I'm one of the gods!" Link ignored his rambling and gave a cocky smile as he turned around to fire a light arrow. The arrow traveled around the wall until it hit Yuga from behind as he backed away, forcing him out of the wall again.

Link emerged out of the wall just as Yuga mustered the last of his strength to slash at Link with his claws. Link rolled out of the way and leapt into the air, screaming as he descended and plunged the Master Sword straight into Yuga's forehead. Yuga bellowed in pain as blood dripped down from the wound. He soon became motionless. "It... would have... been so beautiful." he choked out, coughing up blood. "A world... in my own image..." With those final words, Yuga fell to the ground and vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind an unconscious Hilda.

"And that's the problem." Link said as he picked up his sword. "You're too ugly." He then went to the portrait of Zelda, which had fallen during the fight, and touched it to return the princess to normal. "Link! You saved me!" she said.

"Hello, Princess Zelda." Link replied. "It's nice to meet you again. Though, I'd rather it be under better circumstances."

"I knew I was right about you!" Zelda said. "You truly are the hero of our time!" But the happy moment was soon cut short by the sound of crying. Both Link and Zelda turned to see Hilda struggling to get to her feet using her staff for support, her makeup running due to her tears. "Wh-what else can I do?!" she asked in between sobs. "What more do I have to give?!"

"So it was you who had me imprisoned in that painting, Princess Hilda?" Zelda asked.

"Obviously." Hilda replied bitterly, her tone laced with venom and sarcasm. "You're powers of deduction are staggering." Link jumped in front of Zelda and held his sword out. Truthfully, he felt sorry for her and her situation. He really didn't want to fight her, but he couldn't let her hurt Zelda either. "Please, Princess Hilda..." Zelda began. "No one understands the sacred duty a princess has to her people more than I, but you can't-"

"_You understand nothing!_" Hilda shrieked. "How could you? After all, your kingdom is prosperous, always under the protection of its Triforce. Don't think you can even begin to understand what I go through day in and day out. You can't!"

"But that's...!" Zelda began to say. It was at this point, Link couldn't help but admire the princess. Despite everything she's gone through, despite all the suffering Yuga and Hilda inflicted on her and Hyrule, there was still capacity in her heart for forgiveness. And honestly, Link couldn't bring himself to hate Hilda either despite all that has happened.

"This is not over!" Hilda ranted. "I will have the Triforce!" she then menaced towards the two. Link stood ready to fight if need be, but out of nowhere a voice shouted. "Please! This madness must end!" At that moment, who other than Ravio appeared and landed right in between Link and Hilda, spilling a few Rupees from his bag. He stood up to face Link. "Hello, Mr. Hero." he said.

"Ravio?" Link asked. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Right, about that..." Ravio began. "Let's just say Princess Hilda wasn't the only one keeping secrets." He then slowly removed his bunny-shaped hood to reveal his true face... and what a face it was! Because Link found himself staring at his own face! The only obvious differences were the purple hair and green eyes. At that point, Link believed he had truly gone mad. Or he was dreaming. Or perhaps both.

"Link?" Zelda asked. "Who is this person?"

"Good question." Link replied. "I'm wondering the same thing myself."

"Funny story there." Ravio said. "Your hero and I have gotten to know each other quite well. and come now, Mr. Hero, didn't you think that if Lorule had a counterpart of Zelda it would have one of you? Not too long ago, I served Princess Hilda here in Lorule. So, begging your pardon Princess Zelda, but would it be alright if I intervene here?" Link and Zelda simply just nodded, too stunned to say anything else. With that, Ravio turned to face Princess Hilda. "Your Royal Highness..." he began with a bow.

"So, the prodigal son returns." Hilda venomously replied. "Shall I kill the fatted calf and present the coat of many colors?"

"Ah... nice to see you still have that rapier wit about you." Ravio replied nervously.

"You vanish on me and then come crawling back? _Why?_" Hilda asked, each word feeling like a whip. Ravio paused a bit before replying. "Forgive me, milady. I'm a coward at heart. There was no way that I had the spine to stand up to you and Yuga. But I was smart enough to go to Hyrule. I knew there I could find a hero to assist me."

"Another betrayal?!" Hilda gasped at the revelation. "This hero has proven useful to me, but you-? You wanted him to defeat me?"

A tear streamed down from Ravio's eyes as he began to reply, his voice quavering a bit. "I-I'm sorry, Princess. But it was done with the best of intentions. I know how desperately you wanted to save Lorule and I wish nothing but the best for our kingdom, but by ruining Hyrule...?"

"You would rather see Lorule crumble?!" Hilda asked defensively.

"No! By the gods, no!" Ravio replied passionately. "But surely there must be some other way! To sacrifice one kingdom to save another, no matter how just you believe your actions are, is just too high a price!" Hilda began to cry once more. "But what else can I do?" she asked. "I've tried everything!" Ravio walked over and took his princess's hands. "I understand how badly you want Lorule restored." he began. "And I'd give anything to see that happen. But don't you realize? The reason your noble ancestors destroyed the Triforce was to _stop_ such chaos! By stealing their Triforce, you'd be bringing out the very worst in our ancestors. You'd be subjecting Link, Zelda, and all of Hyrule to the same fate we're suffering! Could you truly live with yourself knowing you caused so much suffering and destruction?!"

"That's not what I...!" Hilda tearfully began to protest.

"I know you had just intentions." Ravio said. "But look around you! This is exactly what happened with our Triforce!" Hilda looked around, seeing all the damage done to the room and the alterations made by the corruption. "Oh no... What have I done?" she trailed off. Tears began to flow from Ravio's face as he continued. "Princess Hilda, I... I just wanted to save you from all this. From yourself. You, who've worried endlessly about Lorule's fate." Hilda looked off to the side in shame, unable to face Ravio.

"Please milady..." Ravio pleaded with a smile as he gripped Hilda's hands tighter. "Let's do the right thing and end this madness. If Lorule is to be destroyed, then it's better to die honorably than be condemned for causing the destruction of another kingdom." Hilda paused for a while, the tension in the room was palpable. Eventually, she let go of Ravio's hands and dried her eyes. "You're right." she said before turning to Zelda. "Princess Zelda, I have been led astray, tempted by the power of your Triforce. But I swear... I did it for my people."

"Please, Princess Hilda." Zelda began. "There is no need to-"

"No, please, I need to finish." Hilda interrupted. "You are so fortunate to have a hero like Link. What courage he has displayed! That alone proves that Hyrule deserves its Triforce. Now I will ensure that you leave this dark kingdom of mine safely-and with your Triforce. Please, follow me. I know of a way that you can go home. Hilda waved her staffed and summoned a portal. The four of them were instantly transported in front of a large black monolith with a crack on it.

"Welcome to Lorule's Sacred Realm." Hilda said. "Yuga discovered that there was a strange crack in this grim slate. Through it, we sensed that there was another world beyond ours... A world where the Triforce still existed. He and I devised the scheme that imperiled your kingdom, but I alone shall set this right." She then walked towards Link. "Please now, if your will give me your bracelet Link." Link took off the bracelet and gave it to Hilda. She put on the bracelet and walked to the monolith. "I should be able to use the last of its power to send you both back to Hyrule." She then closed her eyes and focused the bracelet's power.

Ravio, meanwhile, shook hands with Link. "It's been a pleasure, my friend." He began. "I got to meet a real, live, genuine hero. Ha! Who knows? Maybe some of your courage rubbed off on me. So thanks, Link!"

"Actually, I'd say you already _are_ courageous." Link said. "If you hadn't come to Hyrule, I don't think I'd be here today, so I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"Huh, I guess so." Ravio replied as he scratched the back of his hair with a blush on his face. By then, Hilda had completed her spell and both Link and Zelda were turned into paintings and sent through the monolith. With them gone, the crack receded and the area darkened, leaving Ravio and Hilda alone. "Ravio... I..." she started to say.

"There's no apology necessary." Ravio replied. "You did what you thought was best."

"But why did you return?" Hilda asked. "After everything I've done...?"

"Because you're my princess. And my friend." Ravio replied. "Abandoning you was the hardest thing I've ever done. Everyday we were apart was agonizing. And every night, I would go to bed missing you so much that I would lie awake because it hurt that bad. That's why I'm not running anymore. If this is to be the end, then we face it together." He took Hilda's hand again and gave her a genuine smile. Hilda stared at the boy and eventually smiled back.

* * *

_**In Hyule's Sacred Realm...**_

"Link...? Wake up! Open your eyes!" Zelda said. Link groaned as he slowly regained consciousness and got to his feet. "Where are we?" He asked. "I think we're in Hyrule's Sacred Realm." Zelda replied. "I've never been here before. But look!" The two turned to look down the path and straight ahead of them was the complete Trifroce in all its golden glory. "We really are in the Sacred Realm!" Zelda said as she ran to the Triforce with Link following suit. The two of them said nothing as they stared at the sacred relic, both of them lost in thought from all that had transpired.

"You know, Link..." Zelda began. "I can't help but feel sorry for Princess Hilda. What misery she has to endure!" And her words were filled with genuine sympathy. After all, Zelda could understand what Hilda went through. Were the situation reversed, there would be no guarantee that Zelda wouldn't resort to the same drastic measures Hilda attempted.

"Me too." Link replied, sharing Zelda's sympathy.

"Then I think you know what we should do." Zelda said, looking at the Triforce from the corner of her eye.

"My thoughts exactly." Link said. Both he and Zelda then placed their hands on the Triforce. "Now just concentrate and wish with all your might." Zelda instructed. The two closed their eyes and concentrated as the Triforce began to glow...

* * *

_**In Lorule...**_

Ravio and Hilda stood at the monolith when they heard a thunderous quake. The two of them figured that this was it. Lorule was taking its last dying gasp. The monolith in front of them began to crack and then it exploded in a flash of light, startling the two of them. But what happened next could only be described as divine intervention. A vague shape began to form in front of the two as a golden light appeared. The light then began to condense itself into the shape of an inverted triangle. Hilda's eyes widened as tears began to form. She knew all too well what this was yet she just couldn't believe it. It was the Triforce-_Lorule's_ Triforce!

As the Triforce shined its radiant light, the land seemed to repair itself. Where there was barren, scorched earth, there was now lush grassland. The cracks and chasms seemingly patched themselves back together. Daylight at last had shown through, illuminating the kingdom. After all the years of suffering and scheming, it seemed that the gods themselves were granting her and her kingdom the mercy she had been asking for. Hilda dropped her staff and fell to her knees as she wept openly and happily. The tears streaming down her cheeks felt like waterfalls for they just would not cease. And here she thought she had cried all her tears away. "Thank you, Princess Zelda... Oh, thank you..." She said in between sobs. "And to you as well, Hero of Hyrule... Thank you, Link!"

Ravio, meanwhile, was absolutely awestruck. All he could do was stare at the miracle taking shape in front of him, part of him refusing to believe what was taking place and trying to dismiss it as a dream. he was so distracted in fact that he was almost knocked to the ground when Hilda ran to him and embraced him, continuing to openly wail. He eventually got over his shock and returned his princess's embrace with a content smile, a small tear of joy trickling down his cheek. "It's alright, milady." He said comfortingly. "It's alright to cry. You've more than earned it. You can fall apart for today... For I'll always be here to hold you together."

He then looked up to the sky and thought. "Thank you, Link. You're the most heroic person I've ever met. Thank you for everything."

* * *

**God! This chapter was a pain to write! But the good news is that there is one chapter left! Final chapter will be up tommorow. Stay tuned!**


	21. Chapter 21: Journey's End

**Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on A Link Between Worlds. Link had managed to fight his way into Lorule Castle. There he confronted Hilda, who confessed that she was the one who ordered Yuga to capture the Seven Sages and Zelda all in the hopes of using their Triforce to restore the crumbling kingdom of Lorule. But Yuga had a surprise of his own when he revealed he was only using Hilda so he could use the Triforce and become a god. After an arduous battle, Link managed to defeat the sorcerer and thwart his mad ambitions. Then, another surprise came when Ravio appeared and revealed that he was a servant of Hilda. He manages to convince his princess and make her see the error of her ways. Hilda uses Link's bracelet to send both him and Zelda back to Hyrule. Feeling great sympathy for Hilda's plight, Link and Zelda used their Triforce to restore Lorule back to its glorious state. Now the two of them are enjoying the peace restored to their kingdom.**

With the chaos in Lorule restored to normal, it seemed that Hyrule itself was entering a new time of peace. The dimensional rifts that had littered the land now had vanished along with most of the monsters plaguing Hyrule. But it wasn't just the land that seemed to be returning to normal. But the people in it as well. All the sages had returned to their respective homes and lifestyles. Gulley had been returned safely to his more than overjoyed parents. In fact, Ienzo was so grateful to Link that he decided to increase his salary and give him more days off. Of course this caused Madison to keep an even closer eye on Gulley now.

Seres had been returned to Priest Marcus, who was all too happy to see his only child returned to him safely. And even better, James, the Captain of the Guard was freed from Yuga's painting spell. It seemed that the incident brought the two good friends closer together. So much so, that the two decided to get married later this month. Though Priest Marcus was a bit nervous at the idea, he eventually warmed up to it and gave the two of them his blessing. Irene returned to her Grandmother and resumed her witch training. But now she was making some extra Rupees on the side via delivery service, having been inspired from meeting Link.

Rosco returned to his mining business as usual. In his mind, being a sage did not prevent him from doing his job. Though it did remind him that he should keep the door closed more often to divert intruders. Queen Oren returned to lead the Zora people, and through her and the whole ordeal, it seemed the Zora's became less hostile to humans, helping them more often. Osfala returned home to study under Sahasrahla's tutelage once more. The ordeal seemed to make the young man more humble and less of a braggart. Though that didn't stop him from having fantastical daydreams of heroic feats.

Impa had resumed her duty as the royal adviser to Princess Zelda, but today she was taking a break. Why, you may ask? And where was Princess Zelda? Why, she was with Link of course! As a reward for his heroism, Princess Zelda gave Link free access to the castle. He could come and go as he pleased. The two had spent the day touring the castle. During that, the two stopped at the palace garden for lunch. After a while, the two were now in the main hall and in the gallery admiring the pictures. In particular, they were staring at the picture of the previous Hero of Hyrule and the previous Zelda.

"You know, Link..." Zelda began after a while of silence. "Impa and I have been thinking about something."

"What is it?" Link asked.

"How would you like to become a soldier for Hyrule?" Zelda asked.

"Princess Zelda?" Link asked back. "What brought this on?"

"Well, you did such a noble thing for Hyrule and we felt that you deserved a reward of some kind." Zelda replied. "So, the two of us talked for a bit, and we both felt that this was the best reward we could give you, so what do you say?" Link paused as he stopped to think on this. Truthfully, there was a part of him that wanted to take Zelda up on her offer. But there was something that's been nagging at him since the whole thing started, something that just didn't want to let him go.

"Princess Zelda..." he began slowly. "It's always been my dream to be one of the soldiers of Hyrule... but I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"What? But why?" Zelda asked.

"Because... ever since I started this adventure, I've never truly felt like a hero." Link began. "I always thought that a hero didn't make mistakes, but I made a lot of them. Even when I got the Master Sword, rescued all Seven Sages, and claimed the Triforce of Courage I still didn't feel heroic. But now I learned something. It's not fancy artifacts or magic swords that make a hero. It's not even if you save people. It's all about doing the right thing. But most importantly, it's about hard work. It's about the will to keep trying no matter how hard it is. That's why I'm declining. I want to be a solider in the army, but I want to do it the right way. By working up the ranks, not just cause I'm a hero. I hope that's okay."

Zelda simply listened to the boy's explanation, completely awestruck by his humility and honesty. Despite Link's age, he showed more wisdom than even her. Returning Link's smile with a warm one of her own she replied. "It's perfectly okay. I must applaud you, Link. Most would jump at the chance to be soldier, but you showed humility that I have never seen before. Though you may not fancy yourself a hero, I believe you to be every bit as heroic as the previous Hero of Hyrule. I just have to warn you, though, the admission fee is quite high."

"That's okay." Link replied. "Ienzo raised my salary so I think I should be able to meet the cost. But it'll probably take a while. So, when can I sign?"

"Whenever you feel you're ready." Zelda said. "We'll hold the spot open for you."

"Thanks." Link said. "But for now, let's just enjoy the peace and quiet." And the two of them went back to admiring the gallery together.

* * *

_**Hours later, at the Lost Woods...**_

After a wonderful time with Princess Zelda, Link went to Ienzo and told him of his decision to be a solider in Hyrule. Ienzo and Madison were understandably stunned by Link's sudden decision, but they couldn't help but admire his maturity. It was almost as if he changed overnight. No longer was he the lazy bum who always overslept. Now he was a respectable young man. So, while the decision was hard, the two eventually gave Link their blessing and resolved to help him get in.

After talking with Ienzo and Madison, there was now one last thing for Link to do. And that task brought him here to the Lost Woods where the Master Sword's pedestal was. Pulling out the Blade of Evil's Bane, he gave one long look at it before speaking. "Well, Master Sword, it's been one heck of an adventure!" he began. "We certainly had some fun times. Rescuing sages, beating monsters and sorcerers, Heck- we even saved two kingdoms! But now, this is where I gotta say goodbye. After all, this probably won't be the last time you get pulled out of here, so I gotta leave you where some other hero can find you."

He then walked up to the pedestal and placed the sword back in. As he walked out of the woods, he turned to face the mighty weapon one last time. "Goodbye, Master Sword. Thanks for the adventure." Link said. "Now here's hoping whoever finds you has an even better one."

With those parting words, Link left the forest and thus closed the chapter of an exciting time in Hyrule's history.

**The End!**

* * *

**Well, so ends my tale. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh, and sorry for the short length. Tomorrow begins my Hyrule Warriors novelization. I hope you will enjoy that as well. Thank you to all who have read and reviewed. Till we meet again! **


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